Box Score | Season Stats

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Denver volleyball earned its eighth win of the season as it swept Brown 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-16) Saturday.

"This was a great competitive weekend for us," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "We won a tight five-set match, we played two high-level programs and competed well. We finished the weekend playing very clean and efficient volleyball against Brown. Playing teams like OU and NMSU, especially on the road, are good measuring sticks for where we are right now and what we need to improve on to reach our goals this season."

The Pioneers dominated the match, outperforming Brown in kills (47-38), hitting percentage (.328-.135), assists (43-34), digs (56-53) and blocks (9.0-3.0). Denver also posted 12 fewer attacking errors than the Bears.

Sarah Schmid (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) followed up her excellent match vs. New Mexico State with another impressive hitting percentage, .600 without an error, and tallied a career-high two service aces in the match. Moni Corrujedo (El Paso, Texas) and Ruth Okoye (Aurora, Colo.) led DU with 11 and 10 kills, respectively.

A couple of new Pioneers also made an impact for Denver in the match. Defensive specialist Olivia Novotny (Germantown, Tenn.) recorded an assist and five digs, while middle blocker Nikki Kennedy (Parker, Colo.) earned a kill and a block.

Denver fought through 12 ties with Brown to begin the first set. An error from Brown gave DU the lead, 19-18, and the Pioneers did not surrender it. Okoye and Corrujedo combined for four kills to help Denver down the stretch and win the first set 25-20.

After giving up the first point in the second set, Denver went on a 7-1 run to establish an early lead. The Pioneers held off a late run by the Bears, sparked by back-to-back service aces by Brown, to win the second set 25-20.

DU closed out the match with a 25-16 win. Brown made the set a close one at the beginning, matching the Pioneers at 5, before Denver pulled away, led once again by Okoye and Corruejdo. Cassie Baird (Indianapolis, Ind.) also contributed in the final set with five kills without an error.

The Pioneers will return home for the Denver Invitational Friday, September 18 and Saturday, September 19, as DU will host UIC, Montana and Abilene Christian.

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