DENVER The University of Denver volleyball team (23-6, 12-4 SBC) closed out weekend action with a 3-0 win over SBC West Division foe Louisiana-Monroe (1-28, 0-15 SBC) on Sunday afternoon in Monroe, Louisiana, to claim its 23rd win of the season. The win ties the Pioneers with UALR for the top spot in the West Division standings.

 

“We did a great job of continuing with our momentum from our match on Friday into this match today,” said head coach Beth Kuwata. “We had great energy and focus throughout each set and I’m very proud of the way we closed out the weekend. With our final regular season weekend coming up, we need to continue to play with the same sense of urgency to reach the goals that we set out at the start of the season.”

 

Denver was led by the offensive duo of Holly Benson (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Kerry Porter (Western Springs, Ill.) as both finished with 10 kills apiece. In her return to the starting line-up for the Pioneers, Porter finished with a .769 hitting percentage on 13 attacks and no errors. Also turning in a solid offensive performance was senior Jacqueline Paul (Albuquerque, N.M.) as she finished with nine kills on 18 attacks for a .444 hitting percentage.

 

Aiding the offensive effort was setter Clare Maxwell (Western Springs, Ill.) who finished with 39 assists for the day, her 19th 35+ assist performance of the season. Defensively, the Pioneers were led by libero Kacie Wikierak’s (Crystal Lake, Ill.) 26-dig effort, just one dig shy of her season-high of 27. Also contributing defensively was Benson as she tallied 10 digs, adding to the Pioneers’ 55 dig total for the day.

 

After winning the first set 25-21 and the second set 25-16, the Pioneers were determined to close out the match without dropping a set. With the score tied 8-8, the Pioneers went on a 16-3 run to close out the set 25-11. The run included eight serves by both freshman Jordan Raines (Coppell, Texas) and Wikierak, as well as kills by Maxwell, Benson, Porter and Paul.

 

Denver returns home to host its final two matches of the regular season, beginning with a 7 p.m. match against Arkansas-Little Rock on Nov. 14 in Hamilton Gymnasium. The Pioneers’ three seniors, Paul, Porter and Benson, will be honored throughout the match for their academic and athletic excellence during their time at the University of Denver. The final match of the regular season will take place on Sunday, Nov. 16 against Arkansas State at noon.

 

- PIONEERS -