NEW ORLEANS The University of Denver volleyball team combined for 11 blocks as the Pioneers dropped Sun Belt Conference foe New Orleans on Sunday, 3-0 (30-17, 30-27, 30-28) at the Human Performance Center in New Orleans.

“This is not an easy road trip,” head coach Beth Kuwata said. “For us to sweep New Orleans is a testament to this team’s toughness.”

The Pioneers (13-9, 7-2 SBC) outblocked UNO (11-11, 5-4 SBC) 11-to-4 and .213 in the match. Senior Kim Muller (Parkville, Mo.) had 12 kills in the match, while senior Alyta Baris (Belvedere, Ill.) led all hitters with an attacking percentage of .471. Junior Kerry Porter (Western Springs, Ill.) had six blocks.

Leading 11-9 in the first game of the match Denver ripped off seven unanswered points to take an 18-9 led. DU would close out the first game with a kill and a UNO attack error for the 30-17 win. The Pioneers recorded 15 kills in the game, as New Orleans had 10 attacking errors and hit -.094.

The Pioneers led by as many as seven points in game two, but New Orleans came back to tie the game at 27-27. Back-to-back Privateer errors and a kill by Muller closed out the game, as DU won 30-27.  Muller and Baris combined for nine kills in the game.

Trailing 20-25, Denver went on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 25-25. The Pioneers went on to win the game 30-28, recording seven blocks in the game and hitting a match-low .152.

Denver’s road trip continues at South Alabama on Friday, Oct. 19 at 6 p.m.