Sept. 30, 2005

Box Score

Troy, Ala. - After a week-long break from competition due to weather, the University of Denver volleyball team got back into the swing of the season and opened the 2005 Sun Belt conference season with a 30-26, 27-30, 30-17, 30-22 victory over Troy Friday evening. The Pioneers improve to 7-5 overall, while Troy moves to 7-6 overall and 1-2 in the Sun Belt.

DU was on a three match winning streak before the threat of Hurricane Rita caused the Pioneers to postpone the Sept. 25 match against Louisiana-Lafayette.

"With tonight being our first match in a week, we were a little slow in finding our rhythm," said head coach Beth Kuwata. "Our inconsistencies in passing kept us from getting in a groove in game one and it reflected in our hitting percentage."

"Tonight was a lot like our first game of the season," Kuwata continued. "We seemed to have some first-match jitters that took awhile to shake off. Now that we have this match under our belt, I think we can pick up right back where we left off (before the break)."

While it may not have been the first true match of the season for the Pioneers, it was the first in nearly a year for sophomore middle blocker Sarah Wirth (Sacramento, Calif.) who appeared for the first time since last October due to stress fractures in both legs.

Next, the Pioneers travel to Mobile to meet the University of South Alabama tomorrow evening at 6:00 p.m.