DU Volleyball Holds Off IUPUI 3-1

Box Score

DENVER – The University of Denver volleyball team split the first two sets before rallying to claim the final two as it posted a 3-1 victory (26-24, 19-25, 25-18, 27-25) over IUPUI on Friday night at Hamilton Gymnasium in The Summit League opener for both teams.

The win evens the Pioneers’ record to 7-7 overall and puts them at 1-0 in conference play.  IUPUI drops to 6-10 and 0-1 in the conference loop following the loss.

“It was a really competitive match,” said head coach Jesse Mahoney. “I was excited to see our team come out and execute really well offensively with two new setters. Colleen King and Tori Moons have grown a ton in the last week since they have been put in that position. As the match went on, we started to really fight defensively, which is something that we’ve been talking about.”

Denver clinched the victory following a tight fourth set which saw neither team hold a lead of more than three points.  Despite the narrow margin throughout the decisive set, the Pioneers only trailed on two serves and found themselves tied with the Jaguars nine times before ripping off the final three points to seal the match.

The Pioneers started off strong against IUPUI by winning the first set (26-24). Senior Colleen King (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) led the way in the opening frame with five kills and 13 assists. Denver had 15 kills and a team attack percentage of .342, while forcing IUPUI into six attack errors and a .244 clip.

IUPUI responded in the second set by limiting the Denver attack to a .167 (13-6-42) hitting percentage to knot the match at a set apiece.    

The Pioneers led the entire third set as they were paced by freshman Moni Corrujedo (El Paso, Texas), who totaled five kills and six assists. Senior Brea Muhle (Columbus, Neb.) also added three kills and five assists to help the Pioneers seal the 25-18 victory.  

Sophomore Sarah Schmid (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) led Denver in the fourth set with six kills, while Muhle turned in five kills and an impressive .714 hitting percentage. Sophomore Tori Moons (Visalia, Calif.) and King both tallied nine assists each. With the score knotted at 25-25, Denver grabbed the lead as Muhle tallied her 12th kill of the night. The Pioneers sealed the win off a tandem block from redshirt-junior Cassie Ronda (Chandler, Ariz.) and Muhle.

A total of five Pioneers finished the match with double-figure kills, paced by Corrujedo’s team-best 16.  Freshman Nola Basey (Lyons, Colo.) added 13 winners, while Muhle (12), Schmid (11) and King (10) rounded out Denver’s attack leaders.

King and Moons took turns in directing the Pioneers’ offensive flow as King handed out 26 assists, while Moons tabbed 30.

Junior Kate Acker (Waukesha Wis.) paced Denver on the defensive side with a team-high 25 digs. Basey also came up with 21 in the victory.

IUPUI was paced in the loss by Kaitlyn Hickey who posted 16 kills and 16 digs.  Beth Howard added a match-best 29 digs for the Jaguars.

The Pioneers return to action on Sunday, Sept. 29 when they host Fort Wayne at Hamilton Gymnasium beginning at noon. The Pioneers will host a free clinic for registered participants following the match.

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