Oct. 13, 2006

Box Score

DENVER - The University of Denver volleyball team lost the last three games after jumping ahead 2-0 in the match to fall 3-2 to Sun Belt Conference opponent New Orleans, 30-24, 30-19, 23-30, 16-30, and 15-17. The Pioneers drop to 10-9 on the season and 3-4 in SBC play, while the Privateers improve to 17-5 and 6-2, tops in the SBC's West Division.

The Pioneers were led by sophomore Kerry Porter (Western Springs, Ill.) who recorded a match-high 19 kills and was part of three blocks on the night. UNO outblocked DU 10 to 8. Sophomore Clare Maxwell (Western Springs, Ill.) posted a match-high 55 assists. Sophomore Holly Benson (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and senior Lisa Hunter (St. Louis, Mo.) recorded double-doubles with 10 kills and 14 digs and 15 kills and 14 digs, respectively. Junior Alyssa Hampton (Parkville, Mo.) recorded 17 digs.

DU cruised in the first two games of the match, winning handily while hitting .329 in the two games. In the following two games, the Privateers dominated the Pioneers hitting .545 and .412 in games three and four, respectively. Game five of the match was a thriller with the Pioneers rallying from four down early before falling 15-17.

"If you were at the game, you saw two completely different matches," head coach Beth Kuwata said. "Each team produced two identical games apiece and game five was the way the match should have been played. Our team can play well when it's in our system, which was evident by our play in the first two games. Our passing broke down tonight and that led to our struggles the rest of the match."

The Pioneers continue their SBC homestand Sunday, Oct. 15, at Noon against Louisiana-Lafayette at Hamilton Gym.