Sept. 26, 2003

Box Score

DENVER - The University of Denver volleyball team overcame a late five-point deficit in the third game and used a .652 attack percentage from senior Andrea Baron (West Vancouver, B.C.) in a 3-1 win over South Alabama Friday night in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams. With the win, Denver improves to 10-5 on the season, 1-0 in SBC play. South Alabama drops to 3-9, 0-1.

South Alabama captured the first game 30-28 with a .444 team hitting percentage, its highest of the match. After Denver took a 20-18 lead on a kill by Baron, the Jaguars then captured the next four points to take a 22-20 lead and never trailed again. The second game was a reversal of fortunes, as the Pioneers used an early 6-1 run to take a commanding 10-5 lead in the game and got a team-high five kills from sophomore Kristin Halt (St. Charles, Ill.) in a 30-19 Denver win, evening the match at one game apiece.

The third game would be prove to be the decisive game of the contest, as the two teams were neck and neck for most of the match. With the game tied at 22-all, South Alabama scored six of the next seven points to take a commanding 28-23 lead. But the Pioneers wouldn't quit, as a kill by sophomore Amanda Millard (Southlake, Texas) swung the momentum back in Denver's favor and the Pioneers reeled off the next five points to even the match at 28-all. The two teams traded points the next 12 scores but Denver finally took the lead for good on a kill by Baron and subsequently won the match on Millard's fifth kill of the game. The 36-34 final score was Denver's longest game of the season.

In the fourth game, the Pioneers trailed 1-0 but won the next three points for a 3-1 lead and never trailed again in winning decisively, 30-14. Denver is now 7-1 against South Alabama since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 1999 and have won each of the last five matches between the two teams.

"I think the difference in the match was that we started blocking and playing better floor defense in the third game," head coach Beth Kuwata said. "We were finally able to make some defensive plays and it changed the momentum in the match. We started hitting better and serving better after that and I think us coming back and winning the third game really took the air out of their sails. We pretty much controlled the game after that point."

Denver is next in action on Sunday when they take on New Orleans at 1 p.m. in Hamilton Gymnasium.