DENVER - The University of Denver volleyball team celebrated senior night Friday evening in Hamilton Gymnasium, and junior Faimie Kingsley (Brooklyn. N.Y.) single-handedly made sure this night was not only a memorable one for the seniors but also for all in attendance. Kingsley recorded a double-double as DU defeated conference-foe North Texas, 3-1 (25-16, 25-9, 21-25, 25-10).

"This is a great team-win for our program and a great way to close out the regular season," said head coach Beth Kuwata. "We are riding some great momentum heading into the SBC tournament next week and hopefully we can continue this run. It was really nice to get some solid performances from our seniors in their final match in Hamilton Gymnasium."

The Pioneers (13-15, 10-6 SBC) dominated the entire match, out blocking the Mean Green (16-16, 7-9 SBC) 32-8. DU was also able to hold North Texas to a .023 hitting percentage with solid net play.

Senior Julia Cawthra (Lakewood, Colo.) also provided a spark for the Pioneers, facilitating the offense to the tune of 29 assists and five kills. Redshirt-freshman Cassie Ronda (Chandler, Ariz.) also performed well for the Pioneers as she recorded eight kills and four blocks, while sophomore Colleen King (Steamboat, Colo.) contributed nine kills and 13 digs.

Denver dominated in set one, holding North Texas to a .025 hitting percentage and playing off of the momentum Kingsley provided. For the set, Kingsley recorded a .750 hitting percentage and tallied three kills and two blocks.

The second set was not much different from the first for the Pioneers, as they got out to an early 7-1 lead and never looked back. Kinglsey again dominated the competition with seven kills and a .700 hitting percentage. She also added two more blocks to her stat line as the Pioneers held the Mean Green to less than 10 points in the set. This was the first time all season DU was able to hold its competition to single digit scoring in one set.

Set three included numerous lead changes and a thunderous comeback from the Pioneers who faced a much more focused UNT squad coming out of the intermission. Despite Cawthra recording a season-high in hitting percentage and another solid set from Kingsley, the Pioneers dropped the third set in a nail-biter.

The Pioneers got off to another fast start in the fourth and final set as they broke out to an 8-0 lead and again finished the Mean Green off, nearly holding them to single-digits once again.

Next up, Denver will prepare for the first round of the SBC Tournament which begins on Wednesday, Nov. 17 in Miami, Fla.

Visit DenverPioneers.com for the most comprehensive coverage of Denver volleyball, as well as all of DU's 17 athletic programs.

-PIONEERS-