VOLL v Western Illinois (9 OCT 16) - Highlights
VOLL v Western Illinois (9 OCT 16) - Full Game
VOLL v Western Illinois (9 OCT 16) - Post Game

BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY

DENVER - Leading the offense for the University of Denver volleyball team as she has done throughout the year, Kayla Principato tallied her seventh double-digit kill effort of the season to lead the way in DU's sweep of Western Illinois at 25-13, 25-17 and 25-19.

The Rockville Centre, N.Y., native posted 12 kills with a .524 clip in the afternoon for the Pioneers (12-5, 4-1 SL), followed by eight kills and a .583 rate from Ruth Okoye, six kills and a.357 mark from Nola Basey, and five kills at .400 from Becca Latham.

Monique Domme and Piyusha Boteju steered the attack with 16 assists apiece, to go with 14 digs out of the back line for Cassidy Rooke.

Shalyn Greenhaw led the Leathernecks (4-19, 1-6 SL) with 10 kills and a .389 swing percentage, while Abby Skryd and Hannah Walker drove WIU's offense with 18 and 13 assists, respectively, with Kaili Simmons totaling 12 digs in the back row.

Set One:

Denver hit .469 in the opening frame with no errors and utilized 19 digs to keep Western Illinois to a .189 mark.

Principato tallied four kills in the set, while Basey, Okoye and Latham each added three.

The Pioneers started with a 4-1 lead and eventually built a 16-7 cushion off a 7-1 run midway through. Another 6-1 DU run put the set out of reach in the later portions en route to a 25-13 final.

Set Two:

A .500 swing percentage punctuated the middle stanza for the home team as the Pioneers kept WIU to a .296 mark.

Principato led DU once again with five kills in the set, followed by three from Okoye and two from Domme.

Denver fought off an early push from the Leathernecks as the visitors forced a tie at 7-7 and took a lead at 11-9. The Pioneers weren't discouraged as they fired off a 9-1 run late in the set for a 20-15 lead and never looked back, finalizing the set at 25-17.

Set Three:

DU's offense took a bit of a hit in the final frame, hitting only .286, but the defense stepped up with four blocks to hold Western Illinois to a .100 mark.

Four Pioneers tallied three kills in the set, coming from Basey, Principato, Willis and Moni Corrujedo. Willis added two block assists while Basey posted a solo block and a block assist as well.

WIU kept an early grip on the lead, with another 11-9 advantage, while Denver battled back to force a tie at 16-16 in the midst of a 9-1 run and cruised to a 25-19 final.

Up Next:

The Pioneers have a quick turnaround as they travel to Tulsa, Okla., on Tuesday, Oct. 11, with a match against Oral Roberts starting at 6 p.m. MT.

Tickets are on sale for Denver's home matches and can be found here.

Fans interested in making a donation to the volleyball program can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.

- JOIN THE DENVER 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