Nov. 8, 2002

Box Score

DENTON, Texas - Junior outside hitter Olympia Hughes (Casper, Wyo.) had 14 kills and helped the Pioneers to a match-high second-game hitting percentage to lead the University of Denver to a 3-1 (24-30, 30-24, 30-20, 33-31) win over North Texas in Sun Belt Conference action Friday night at The Snake Pit in Denton, Texas. With the win, the Pioneers (5-17, 3-8 SBC) are still eligible for Sun Belt Championship play. UNT drops to 15-14 overall and 9-3 in conference action.

The Pioneers lost the first game 24-30 as the Lady Eagles had 18 kills. Denver hit at a match low zero percent in that opening game with UNT attacking at a clip of 22 percent. In the second game, the Pioneers were able to withstand the onslaught of the Lady Eagles, who hammer out 15 more kills. Yet Denver hit 25.6 percent as a team in the second game and fought back to win.

The third game was a quick affair with Denver storming out to a big lead. UNT would fight back but Denver would pull away with tough serving. The Pioneers fought to keep its season alive in the fourth game. Fourteen more Pioneer kills would end UNT's hopes secure the victory for Denver.

"It was not our best match offensively," said head coach Beth Kuwata. "Our defense was the difference. We served the ball well and controlled the new with excellent blocking. This was a must-win for us and we got the job done. It also makes Sunday's match loom large as we want to control our own postseason destiny."

The Pioneers leave Denton, Texas for Louisiana-Lafayette where they will take on the Ragin' Cajuns on Sunday, November 10, at noon at Long Gym.

DENVER VOLLEYBALLAt Denton, Texas (The Snake Pit)Denver 3, North Texas 1                        1   2   3   4Denver (5-17, 3-9 Sun Belt)         24  30  30  33North Texas (15-14, 9-3 Sun Belt)   30  24  20  31