DU Volleyball Drops Heartbreaker to Begin Pioneer Classic

Friday, September 14

Denver, Colo.

University of Denver

4-6

Ohio

7-2

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
OHIO	30	30	28	31	15	3
Denver	27	32	30	29	10	2

DU Volleyball Drops Heartbreaker to Begin Pioneer Classic

9/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score

DENVER The University of Denver volleyball team took No. 17 Ohio to five games before falling, 3-2 (27-30, 32-30, 30-28, 29-31, 10-15) to open the Pioneer Classic on Friday.

“We had an opportunity to win the match in the fourth game but couldn’t get it done,” head coach Beth Kuwata said. “If you look back we didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we had to put the match away. Overall I can see a glimpse of what we are capable of doing. We can compete against anyone but we have to decide that we want to play well all the time to get the wins.”

Junior Holly Benson (Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the Pioneers with a team-high 21 kills and added 12 digs. Senior Kim Muller (Ballwin, Mo.) had 16 kills, while junior Kerry Porter (Western Springs, Ill.) added 11. Redshirt sophomore Clare Maxwell (Western Springs, Ill.) came off the bench in the match in game two and led DU with 36 assists.

Denver (4-6) hit .172 in the match but had more digs than Ohio (7-2), 72 to 70. Ohio hit .235 in the match and had 19 blocks in the contest.

In the first game of the match Denver led by as many as seven early in the contest but Ohio rallied, going on a 10-2 run to tie the contest, 12-12. The two teams would tie up the contest four more times. Denver would get within one point of the Bobcats on a kill by Benson, but Ohio prevailed, winning the game, 30-27. DU committed 13 attack errors in the set, hitting .019, while OU hit .045 with eight attack errors.

The second frame of the match saw DU lead midway through, 16-11, but Ohio responded with an 11-2 run to take a 22-18 lead. Kuwata called a timeout and the Pioneers rallied, scoring five straight points to tie the contest, 23-23, capped with a block by Benson. Tied a 24-24, Benson hit a crosscourt shot, giving the Pioneers the lead. Leading by two points, the Bobcats capitalized on a DU error but Denver got back the point on a serving error by OU’s Sarah Petrulis. The Bobcats tied the contest as Benson had an attack error. Senior Alyta Baris (Belvidere, Ill.) scored back to back points for the Pioneers, for the 31-30 advantage. Maxwell gave DU the 32-20 win on a kill from senior Alyssa Hampton (Parkville, Mo.).

The third game consisted of 14 ties and four lead changes. DU recorded its best hitting percentage of the match, .308, and recorded just six errors in the frame. After an Ohio time out late in the frame, the Bobcats would get within one, as the Pioneers held off OU and closed out the match on a kill by Muller, 30-28.

DU was cruising in the fourth match of the game, leading 22-15, but the Bobcats went on a 13-8 run to tie the game at 28-28. DU regained the lead on an Ellen Herman service error. OU’s Melissa Griffin notched the game at 29-29 with a kill but DU committed back-to-back errors to give Ohio the game, 31-29.

The Pioneers kept the final frame of the match close, but a 4-1 Ohio run put DU down by five, 13-8. DU would get within three, capitalizing on an attack error by the Bobcats but OU went on for the win, 15-10.

The Pioneer Classic continues Friday evening as Ohio faces Washington State at 5 p.m. and Denver takes on Long Beach State at 7:30 p.m.