DENVER The University of Denver volleyball team defeated visiting Arkansas State 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-18) in its final regular season match of the year at Hamilton Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon, clinching its second consecutive SBC West Division Crown.

 

This is the fourth time in program history that the Pioneers have won the regular season division crown. Denver won its first crown in 2000 as it finished the season with a 19-14 overall record, 12-4 in the SBC. The Pioneers grabbed their second crown in 2005 with a 17-11 overall record, 8-4 conference record. Last season, the Pioneers grabbed their third West Division crown with a 22-12 overall record and a 15-3 record in the SBC.

 

Denver (25-6, 14-4 SBC) concluded its home season with a near perfect 16-1 record in Hamilton Gymnasium.

 

“It was great to finish the regular season in much the same way as we started the year,” head coach Beth Kuwata said. “In many ways, our last two matches were very similar to how we played in the beginning of September.”

 

The Pioneer offense was lead by senior Holly Benson (Colorado Springs, Colo.) with 14 kills in 25 total attacks for a .480 average. Junior Clare Maxwell (Western Springs, Ill.) led the Pioneers in assists with 36 on the day. 

 

Sophomore defensive specialist Kacie Wikierak (Crystal Lake, Ill) led all players with seven digs, while senior Jacqueline Paul (Albuquerque N.M.) and Maxwell tallied three blocks each.

 

“We did a good job managing the game today and kept the pressure on Arkansas State,” Kuwata said. “I’m happy we found a way to win. Everyone stepped up and contributed today.”

 

The Pioneers used a mid-set seven-point rally to take a 17-9 lead over Arkansas State (20-11, 10-8 SBC) in the first set. Following an ASU timeout, Denver extended its lead to 20-9 en route to a 25-14 victory on a Kerry Porter (Western Springs, Ill.) kill.

 

DU won the second set 25-19. Freshman Jordan Raines (Coppell, Texas) gave the Pioneers an early lead with back-to-back service aces and Denver never looked back. Benson tallied seven kills on 11 attempts for a .636 attack percentage, while Maxwell recorded 12 assists in the set.

 

Denver took the third set 25-18 to win the match in straight sets. Sophomore Kresson Vreeman (Raymond, Minn.) came in following a Pioneer timeout with DU holding a two-point lead at 18-16. She served a critical point, leading to an Arkansas State timeout. Wikierak ended the set with a service ace.

 

The Pioneers now await official seeding information from the SBC and will head to Miami, Fla. for next week’s Sun Belt Tournament hosted by Florida International.

 

 

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