Pioneers Blank Mavericks 3-0 at Home

Box Score

DENVER – Led by a game-high 12 kills from senior Colleen King (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), the University of Denver volleyball team defeated the visiting Omaha Mavericks 3-0 on Friday night at Hamilton Gymnasium.

Denver turned in scores of 25-23, 25-21 and 25-19 to bring its season record to 11-8 overall, while Omaha fell to 6-15 overall, 1-5 in conference play.

“We’re happy to get out of here with the win,” said head coach Jesse Mahoney. “Omaha played very well. They had a specific game plan and they executed it very well, especially in the first set. I was happy with how we defended and I was happy with the energy that we had.”

King finished with 12 kills and a .357 hitting percentage to go along with 12 assists, five digs and two blocks. Also chipping-in in the scoring column were freshmen Nola Basey (Lyons, Colo.) and Moni Corrujedo (El Paso, Texas) with eight kills each. Basey also tallied game-highs with 15 digs and five blocks. Sophomore setter Tori Moons (Visalia, Calif.) finished with 23 assists and nine digs, while junior Kate Acker (Waukesha, Wis.) finished with 15 digs.

Senior Brea Muhle (Columbus, Neb.), the No. 6th ranked hitter in the nation, led the way again with an impressive .556 hitting percentage on the evening, finishing with five kills and two blocks.

Michaela Schimmer led the Mavericks with 12 kills and a .409 hitting percentage, to go along with a 16 assists, 11 digs and three blocks.

Denver trailed by as much as seven points through the first set as Omaha continued to keep the Pioneers on their toes. With the score 19-13, Denver used a 10-3 run to tie the game at 22-22 and then grabbed hold of the lead off a kill by King, forcing the Mavericks to call timeout. Coming out of the break, Omaha was able to tie it once again however a kill by freshman Ruth Okoye (Aurora, Colo.) gave the Pioneers the lead and King sealed the win with her fifth kill of the set.

Following a 25-21 showing in the second set, Denver turned in its best team hitting performance of the night with a .400 percentage in the third and final set, off 12 kills and only two errors. King led the way with four kills, while Basey and Corrujedo both finished with three kills each.

Up next, the Pioneers host Western Illinois on Sunday at 2 p.m. MT at Hamilton Gymnasium. A free clinic will follow the match for all youth who present a valid ticket to the game.

SUMMIT LEAGUE UPDATE

Denver sits at 11-8 on the season, 5-1 in league play. South Dakota leads the league with a 15-6 overall mark and a perfect 6-0 record in league play. The Pioneers follow the Coyotes, while IUPUI moved up to third with a 4-2 mark in league action, 10-12 overall.

The Pioneers’ 5-1 mark in league play is the best conference start since the 2008 season in which the Pioneers finished 14-4 in the Sun Belt Conference and 25-7 overall.

SCOUTING THE LEATHERNECKS

Samantha Fournier ranks fourth in the league in both kills (281) and kills/set (3.75). Ann Miller ranks fifth in the league in kills (266) and kills/set (3.55). Molly Murphy leads the conference in service aces/set with a 0.46 average, while Kaitlynn Novak ranks third with a 0.39 average. Sarah Fetter ranks second in the conference in assists (771) and fourth in assists/set (10.28). As a team the Leathernecks lead the conference in service aces/set with 1.39 and are second in the league in digs with 1,106.

TICKETS/MEDIA

Tickets are still available for Sunday’s match and can be purchased online at www.DenverPioneers.com/Tickets. Live stats are also available and fans can watch the action live via Pioneer Vision.

FAN ENGAGEMENT

For Sunday’s match, fans are encouraged to wear their pink shirts to support breast cancer awareness as the Pioneers host their annual Dig Pink event. Following the match on Sunday, Denver will host a free clinic for youth who show a valid match ticket.

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