University of Denver
4-1
Illinois State
3-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois State | 26 | 30 | 31 | 28 | 15 | 3 |
| Denver | 30 | 20 | 29 | 30 | 12 | 2 |
Pioneer Split Pair at Denver Invitational
9/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 5, 2003
DENVER - The University of Denver volleyball team split two games Friday in its own University of Denver Invitational, defeating Central Florida 3-0 before falling in the nightcap to Illinois State, 3-2. By defeating UCF earlier in the day, Denver began a season 4-0 for the first time in school history but its bid for a first-ever 5-0 start came up short in a five-game thriller.
After winning the first game 30-26, Illinois State stormed back to take the second game 30-20 and even the match a one game apiece. The third game saw 10 ties and the Pioneers have three game points only to see the Redbirds fight back and win the final four points to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Denver captured the fourth game 30-28 to force a deciding fifth game in the match and the combination of Laura Doornbos and Emily Kabbes (48 kills combined) proved to be too much for the Pioneers.
The Pioneers had three players register double digits in kills, led by 14 each from freshman Lisa Hunter (St. Louis, Mo.) and sophomore Kristen Halt (St. Charles, Ill.). Junior Mary England (Castle Rock, Colo.) also had 13 for the Pioneers. Denver was outstanding serving the ball, as the Pioneers had 13 service aces as a team and Hunter nearly broke a 19-year old school record with eight service aces of her own (Beth Kuwata 10, 1984).
"Anyone who watched our team has seen the improvement from last season," head coach Beth Kuwata said. "I'm pleased with how we played today and I thought our aggressiveness today was excellent. Lisa (Hunter) played great. We just couldn't stop their middle attack tonight, that's what it comes down to. If we could have adjusted a little better the outcome could have been different. But tomorrow's a big test for us, seeing how we'll react, after a loss. But our players are still very excited about playing."
Earlier in the day, the Pioneers handed UCF its first loss of the season, 3-0. In that match, Hunter was again spectacular as she hit on a .600 attack percentage (9 kills, 0 errors, 15 chances) in leading the Pioneers to the best start to a season in program history.
In earlier matches, Illinois State defeated Miami (Ohio) 3-1 and Colorado beat UCF 3-0. The tournament continues tomorrow with five matches beginning at 10 a.m.
Saturday's matches
10 a.m. - Illinois State vs. Colorado
Noon - DENVER vs. Miami (Ohio)
2 p.m. - Illinois State vs. UCF
5 p.m. - UCF vs. Miami (Ohio)
7:30 p.m. - DENVER vs. Colorado
