Sept. 8, 2006

Box Score

DENVER - Senior outside hitter Lisa Hunter (St. Louis, Mo.) recorded 19 kills as the University of Denver Pioneers opened the 2006 Pioneer Classic with a 3-0 win over the Georgia Bulldogs, 30-19, 30-28 and 30-27, at Hamilton Gym Friday evening. It was the first game-sweep of the season for the Pioneers as they improve to 3-2 overall while the Bulldogs fall to 3-5.

Sophomore middle blocker Kerry Porter (Western Springs, Ill) contributed 11 kills in the winning effort, while sophomore setter Clare Maxwell (Western Springs, Ill.) recorded a match-high 44 assists. The Pioneers recorded four blocks in the win.

The Pioneers dominated early in game one, as they went on to win 30-19, led by Hunter's nine kills. The Bulldogs and Pioneers kept game two close, but Emmy Davidsmeyer (Colorado Springs, Colo.) delivered the game-winning kill in the 30-28 victory to go up 2-0 in the match. Game three consisted of 18 ties, the last at 27-27, but the Pioneers scored three consecutive points for the 30-27 win to complete the sweep.

"We wanted to set the tempo early in the match and we jumped out to a quick lead in the first game," said head coach Beth Kuwata. "In games two and three we struggled and made more errors, but we kept the pressure on them."

In game one of the tournament, No. 3 UCLA lost just its second game of the season, but dropped Texas State, 3-1, winning 30-24, 31-29, 28-30 and 30-17.

The Pioneer Classic continues on Saturday at Hamilton Gym beginning at 11 a.m. as UCLA (7-0) battles Georgia (3-5), followed by Texas State (3-5) against DU (3-2) at 1 p.m. The tournament wraps up Saturday evening, as Texas State faces Georgia at 5 p.m. and UCLA and Denver at 7:30 pm.