DENVER - The University of Denver volleyball team (6-9) fell in both its matches today in Hamilton Gymnasium, losing to Virginia Commonwealth and Long Beach State. The Pioneers began the day with a 3-0 (24-26, 25-27, 21-25) loss to VCU, and later dropped a 3-1 (26-28, 25-19, 14-25) decision to Long Beach State.

Freshman Alex Turgeon (Cherry Hills Village, Colo.) tallied 27 kills on the day, while adding 7 digs. Junior Alyssa Bonelli (Superior, Colo.) and freshman Colleen King (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) added 25 and 20 kills, respectively. Senior setter Kresson Vreeman (Raymond, Minn.) finished with 49 assists overall, while senior libero Kacie Wikierak (Crystal Lake, Illi.) posted 28 digs.

Turgeon led the Pioneer offensive effort in the first match of the day, tallying 15 kills, five digs and a block, while King and Bonelli each added 11 kills. Wikierak led the defense with 15 digs, while Vreeman finished with 28 assists.

In the match against Long Beach State, Bonelli led Denver with 14 kills and a dig, while Turgeon added another 12 kills and 2 digs. Vreeman once again led the Pioneers with 21 assists, while Wikierak tallied 13 digs to lead the DU defense.

In other matches at Hamilton Gymnasium today, Middle Tennessee beat Long Beach State 3-2 (25-23, 25-9, 20-25, 20-25, 17-15) and then later swept VCU 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-20).

Next up, the Pioneers hit the road to take on conference rivals Florida International on Friday, Sept. 24 and Florida Atlantic on Saturday, Sept. 25. Live video of the Pioneers' match will against the Golden Panthers be available on Pioneer Vision.

- PIONEERS -