Sept. 2, 2005

Box Score

CHICAGO - The University of Denver volleyball team opened its 2005 volleyball season Friday by splitting a pair of matches at the UIC Invitational hosted by Illinois-Chicago. The Pioneers swept Bowling Green 3-0 in the first match of the day but were outlasted by James Madison in the second match, 3-2. Denver is 1-1 on the season.

In the first match, Denver's offense was clicking on all cylinders as the Pioneers recorded a .324 hitting percentage for a three game sweep. Denver was led by sophomore Kim Muller (Ballwin, Mo.), who recorded 10 kills with just three attacking errors to lead all players with a .368 hitting percentage. The Pioneers got stellar play from freshman outside hitter Holly Benson (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who led all players in the match with 13 kills and 18 digs. Denver's net defense limited Bowling Green to just 32 kills and a .095 hitting mark in the three games.

In the second match, Denver came out strong and won the first two games but struggled to finish James Madison off. After recording a .182 hitting percentage in the first game and a .282 mark in the second game, the Pioneers struggled in the final three games, registering just 26 kills in the three games combined and committing 20 errors. Muller again paced the Pioneers with 17 kills and junior Lisa Hunter (St. Louis, Mo.) recorded 15 as they were the lone Pioneers with double figures in kills.

"We didn't play that great in the second match, we got into some situations where our serving broke down and that's why we struggled," head coach Beth Kuwata said. "The first match we played very well. I'm happy with where we're at after two matches."

Denver plays host Illinois-Chicago at 10:30 a.m. and College of Charleston at 3:30 p.m. to wrap up the tournament.