VOLL v IPFW (8 NOV 15) - Highlights
VOLL v IPFW (8 NOV 15) - Post Game
VOLL v IPFW (8 NOV 15) - Full Game

Box Score| Season Stats

DENVER - The Denver Pioneers swept IPFW (25-18, 25-15, 25-16) Friday in Hamilton Gymnasium in DU's senior day match. The victory brought Denver's home record to 16-0 for the regular season. The Pioneers are 24-6 on the season and 12-3 in The Summit League with 10 sweeps.

"It was a great match. I thought we had focus throughout," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "I was a little worried about an emotional letdown from Friday night, but we didn't see that at all. We got better as the match went on, and that was really our focus for today."

The Pioneers dominated the Mastodons, outhitting IPFW .379 to .146 with 10 more kills, recording 41 assists to IPFW's 33 and tallying 37 digs to 26. Denver also served three more aces than Fort Wayne.

SeniorSarah Schmid (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) led the Pioneers with 11 kills on 16 attempts for a .625 hitting percentage, her third-straight match with a hitting percentage of at least .600.Cassie Baird (Indianapolis, Ind.) also had a .625 hitting percentage; she had 10 kills without an error.

Piyusha Boteju (Euless, Texas) dished out 31 assists, one shy of her career high, and added in a service ace. Libero Cassidy Rooke (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) led Denver with 10 digs and also notched an ace.

Baird led DU with six kills without an error in the first set. Six other Pioneers got in on the offense with at least kill, and Schmid recorded three kills. Boteju spread out the offense, tallying 12 assists in the process, and helping Denver to a .441 hitting percentage in the first set. The Pioneers took the lead at 2-1 and did not look back, with two four-point runs solidifying their lead. Denver won the first set 25-18 and gained momentum for the rest of the match.

DU continued its efficient offense in the second set, hitting .440. Schmid had four kills and Baird had three, each without an error in the set. Five Pioneers recorded at least one kill and did not have an attacking error, with Nola Basey (Lyons, Colo.) andBecca Latham (Austin, Texas) hitting 1.00 in the set. For the second set in a row, IPFW earned the first point. DU tied the match up 3-3 off a kill fromKayla Principato (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) and powered to a 25-15 victory.

The Pioneers' defense challenged the Mastodons in the final set, forcing 10 attacking errors by IPFW. Basey was all over the court with six digs and a solo block in the set. Schmid led DU's offense with four kills on five attempts, whileRuth Okoye (Aurora, Colo.) tallied two kills for third-straight set. Denver led Fort Wayne from start to finish in the third set, ultimately claiming the 25-16 win off a kill from Schmid.

Denver will travel to Tulsa, Okla., to close out their regular season Summit League schedule Friday, and Mahoney said that the team feels good about the final matchup at Oral Roberts.

"We've been playing really well the last several matches," Mahoney said. "We know it's a big match for conference championship and seeding purposes, so we're going to be focused all week in preparation. ORU's playing very well right now. They have probably the best outside in The Summit League playing better than anyone in the league. So we'll have to prepare for that, but we like our chances."

The Pioneers will host The Summit League Championships Friday, November 20 through Sunday, November 22. After the team's undefeated home regular season, DU is excited to have home-court advantage in The Summit League Championships, according to Mahoney.

"We love playing in Hamilton. We get great support. I think the kids really feed off of everyone in the crowd. It's a big home-court advantage for us. We play better in this gym, and we're looking forward to playing The Summit League tournament in here because I think we'll definitely play our best in front of our home fans."

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