DENVER – Led by a .667 hitting percentage and 11 kills from senior Brea Muhle (Columbus, Neb.), the University of Denver volleyball team shutout the visiting Fort Wayne Mastodons 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-12) on Sunday afternoon at Hamilton Gymnasium.

The win brings the Pioneers to 8-7 on the season, 2-0 in The Summit League play. The loss drops the Mastodons to 7-10 overall, 0-2 in league action.

“It took us a little while to get going today, but once we did we played great,” said head coach Jesse Mahoney. “We won in three sets against a very solid team and I’m really happy with our performance. We got great contributions from every one of our starters and our two setters did a great job again as they continue to learn and grow in their role.”

Senior Colleen King (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) chipped in nine kills and a team-leading eight blocks to go along with 14 assists. Sophomore setter Tori Moons (Visalia, Calif.) posted 28 assists as she continues to fill in for injured setter Bailey Karst (Aurora, Colo.).

Freshman Nola Basey (Lyons, Colo.) led the Pioneers defensively with 16 digs to go along with eight kills, one block and an assist.

Ranking in the top-10 nationally in hitting percentage, Muhle continued to impress throughout the match, posting a .714 in the first set, a .400 in the second set and an error-free showing in the third set.

“I’m really proud of what Brea has done,” Mahoney said. “In the time I’ve been here, she’s gotten better and better every year. She works hard every day and is really efficient.”

Both teams kept the action tight in the first set, that saw three lead changes and six tied scores. With the score knotted 13-13, the Pioneers used a 7-3 run to take a 20-16 advantage, forcing the Mastodons to take a timeout. Following the break, the Pioneers’ continued their run, closing out the set on a 5-3 run that concluded with back-to-back blocks by Denver.

The Mastodons continued to apply the pressure in the second set, tying the score with the Pioneers 12 times. With the score 12-12, Fort Wayne took a 14-12 lead off consecutive service aces, forcing a Denver timeout. Following the discussion, the Pioneers jumped ahead 16-15 off three straight attack errors by the Mastodons. After a Fort Wayne timeout, Denver continued its run and maintained the lead to close out the set 25-21.

Using the intermission to make adjustments, the Pioneers dominated in the third set using a .520 hitting percentage to stun the Mastodons 25-12. Freshman Moni Corrujedo (El Paso, Texas) led the Pioneers with four kills, while Mule, King and redshirt junior Cassie Ronda (Chandler, Ariz.) all chipped in with three kills.

As a team, Denver finished with a .403 hitting percentage, its fourth-best of the season, while limiting Fort Wayne to .140. Denver also finished with a season-high 13 team blocks, six coming in the first set alone.

“We hit for really high numbers in sets two and three and our setters did a fantastic job. Each one of our attackers was super positive. That’s as good as we can play and I’m happy to do it our first weekend of conference play,” Mahoney said.  

The Crimson and Gold continue league play, traveling to Brookings, S.D., to take on South Dakota State on Friday, Oct. 4 at 6 p.m. MT. Action continues on Saturday against North Dakota State at 6 p.m. MT.

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