Nov. 12, 2004

Box Score

DENVER - Led by a school-record .786 hitting percentage from junior outside hitter Amanda Millard (Southlake, Texas), the University of Denver volleyball team won its third consecutive match with a 3-0 sweep (30-21, 30-19, 30-20) over South Alabama Friday night in Hamilton Gymnasium. The win clinches at least the seventh seed in next week's conference tournament and evens Denver's record at 13-13 overall, 7-7 in the Sun Belt Conference. South Alabama drops to 3-20, 1-13.

Denver dominated from the outset, winning all three games in convincing fashion and trailing just twice in the entire match. The Pioneers recorded a .346 hitting percentage - their third-best mark of the season - and needed just 51 kills to defeat the Jaguars for the ninth consecutive time.

Millard led all players with 12 kills and committed just one attacking error in 14 total chances, giving her a career-high .786 hitting percentage and breaking the school record previously held by Andrea Baron (.762).

Sophomore Lisa Hunter (St. Louis, Mo.) had nine kills and both junior Kristin Halt (St. Charles, Ill.) and freshman Kim Muller (Ballwin, Mo.) each had eight for the Pioneers, who won their third consecutive match and climbed back to the .500 mark for the first time since Oct. 22 (10-10).

"Our offense was great tonight, we were very efficient," head coach Beth Kuwata said. "It was good to get everyone in the match because you never know what we might need next week but I'm proud of the way we played. This was a big win for us and we needed it with a big match on deck tomorrow."

The Pioneers can clinch second place in the West Division tomorrow night with a win over New Orleans in the season finale at 7 p.m. in Hamilton Gymnasium.