Box Score

LINCOLN, NEBR. - The Denver Pioneers fell 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-21) to their 11th nationally ranked opponent, the Nebraska Cornhuskers in their first game of the Ameritas Players Challenge in the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Friday night. Despite the loss bringing their season to 5-3, Denver is using this match as an opportunity to grow.

"We are trying to build a championship program here at DU, and competing against top programs in the country can only help us get better," head coach Jesse Mahoney commented. "Our players enjoyed the challenge of playing a great team in a pressure packed environment. I was happy to see that we got better as the match went on; we played hard the entire time and finished the match playing very high level volleyball."

Sophomore Ruth Okoye (Aurora, Colo.) was a key defensive player for the Pioneers. Alone, she compiled eleven of the 33 kills, leading the team for the second game in a row. Bailey Karst (Aurora, Colo.) was also incredibly valuable on the defensive end, providing 21 of 31 total assists throughout the game. She and Kate Acker also had the most digs; Karst had seven and Acker nine.

The Pioneers will battle Colgate (10:00 A.M. MT) and Akron (3:30 P.M. MT) on Saturday.

- JOIN THE PIONEER NATION -

Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 17 of Denver's NCAA Division I sports

Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Volleyball on Facebook

Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_Volleyball on Twitter