DU INVITATIONAL SITE

DENVER - The University of Denver volleyball team (3-4) won both its matches on the final day of the DU Invitational to grab its first tournament title of the season, finishing the weekend with a 3-1 record in Hamilton Gymnasium and a 3-4 overall record.

The Pioneers started out the day defeating the Eastern Illinois Thunderbirds 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-16) and finished it with a 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 25-14, 19-25, 15-6) win over the West Virginia Mountaineers of the Big East.

"We did a better job of coming out ready to play today both mentally and physically," said head coach Beth Kuwata. "There are still things that we need to work on, which we will do this week during practice, but I am very proud of our team's effort today. Coming back and winning our first home tournament of the season is a momentum boast for our young team."

For the day, senior Emmy Davidsmeyer (Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the Pioneers with 44 kills and a 48.1 hitting percentage, while also adding seven total blocks, two assists and once service ace. Through the weekend's four matches, Davidsmeyer totaled 77 kills and a 49.6 hitting percentage, earning her the Tournament MVP honor and a sport on the All-Tournament Team.

Also turning in a strong offensive performance for the day was sophomore Jordan Raines (Coppell, Texas) who tallied 27 kills, 22 digs and two blocks. For the weekend, Raines finished with 43 kills, 31 digs, five assists and four total blocks.

Freshmen Faimie Kingsley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Brianna Zimlich (Fort Collins, Colo.) also turned in a balanced effort for the Pioneers in their first home tournament of their collegiate career. Leading the way with eight total blocks for the day, Kingsley also added 19 kills and a 34.2 hitting percentage, while Zimlich added three blocks, four kills and two assists. For the weekend, Kingsley finished with 14 total blocks and 26 kills, while Zimlich finished with eight blocks and 13 kills.

Also earning spots on the DU Invitational All-Tournament Team were juniors Kresson Vreeman (Raymond, Minn.) and Kacie Wikierak (Crystal Lake, Ill.). Vreeman finished the weekend with 163 assists through 14 sets for an 11.64 assists per set average, while Wikierak tallied 47 digs and four service aces.

After defeating the Thunderbirds of Eastern Illinois in three sets to start the day, Denver faced tough competition in the Mountaineers of West Virginia. Dropping the first set 25-20, the Pioneers held off the Mountaineers 25-23 in set two to head into the break with a 1-1 tie.

Action remained tight for the first few points of set three, until the Pioneers used a Mountaineer attack error to spark a six point rally off serves from Wikierak to take a 14-8 advantage. Grabbing hold of the momentum, Denver continued to put the pressure on West Virginia, closing out the set on an 11-6 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

However, the Mountaineers were not ready to concede the match just yet and handed the Pioneers a 25-19 loss in set four to force a fifth-set tie-breaker.

Having lost a tough five-set match to LSU the previous weekend, the Pioneers jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead in set five off strong serves from senior Clare Maxwell (Western Springs, Ill.) and Wikierak. Denver then closed out the match and sealed the win on a 7-3 run to claim its first tournament win of the season.

The Pioneers return to the court next weekend as they co-host the CU-DU Tournament in both Denver and Boulder, Colo. Up first for Denver is an 11 a.m. match in Hamilton Gymnasium against Colorado. Check out www.denverpioneers.com for the complete tournament schedule.

- PIONEERS -