BOX SCORE

Pioneer Movement| Denver Ticket Office

DENVER- The University of Denver women's volleyball team lost to Oral Roberts in straight sets (20-25, 17-25, 22-25) on Saturday night in Tulsa, Okla.

The loss drops the Pioneers to 12-5 on the season and 3-2 in the Summit League, while ORU improves to 8-10 and 5-1 in league play.

Cassie Bairdled the Pioneers with 10 kills and 11 digs, her fourth double-double of the year. The senior hit .529 (10-1-17) on the night to lead DU. Piyusha Boteju had 15 assists and Ellie Anderson had 13 assists to pace the visitors. Emma Willis had four total blocks, all assisted, for Denver, and Tina Boe and Olivia Novotny had the two service aces in the match for the Crimson and Gold.

Denver hit .221 in the match, with 36 kills, 15 attack errors and 95 attempts. DU had five total team blocks from 10 assisted blocks, 37 digs, 34 assists and two service aces.

Set One: Oral Roberts started off the match hot, getting out to an early 7-2 lead that they wouldn't relinquish. After falling behind 11-5, Denver was able to get the lead down to three at 16-13, but ORU pushed it back out with a 7-0 run to make it 23-13. The Pioneers fought back with a 7-1 run to close within four at 24-20, but ORU got the final point to take the set 25-20. Baird had four kills, Boteju had six assists, and Baird and Anderson each had three digs to lead the team. Becca Latham and Boe combined for the lone assisted block in the set, and Novotny recorded her ninth service ace of the season. Denver hit .343 with 15 kills off of 35 attacks and had three errors.

Set Two: Denver took the early lead this time, scoring the first three points of the set off of kills from Kayla Principato and Baird. However, ORU came back to tie the set at four, and there would be ties at five, six, seven, eight, before ORU used two-straight points to go ahead 10-8. DU answered with a 2-0 run of its own, but then ORU proceeded to score the next three points to pull back in front 13-10. From there, ORU pulled away, maintaining a three- to four-point lead for most of the remaining set. Denver tried to close in on the Golden Eagles, getting as close as three at 20-17, but ORU scored the next five points to take the set 25-17. DU hit .176 with 13 kills and seven errors on 34 attempts. Baird led the second set with five kills and five digs, and Boteju added six assists. There were a total of six ties and one lead change in the frame.

Set Three: DU scored the first point of the set off of a service error, but ORU would go on a 7-1 run from that point to take the early 8-2 lead. Down 10-3, DU then had a 7-1 run to cut into the lead at 11-10 behind kills from Teal Schnurr, Latham and Baird, a Boe service ace, and three DU assisted blocks. Willis had three assisted blocks in a row for the Pioneers during the 7-1 run. They continued to keep within one at 12-11 and 13-12, before an ORU attack error tied the set at 13. There would be another tie at 14 before ORU went on a 3-0 run to go ahead 17-14. From that point, DU would get a point off of an ORU attack error, but Oral Roberts scored the next two points to go ahead 19-15. DU would have a pair of 3-0 runs to cut the lead to two at 20-18 and 23-21, but ORU finished the set and the match with the 25-22 win. Denver closed the match hitting .115 on eight kills, with Schnurr recording three of those to lead the team in the final set. Anderson and Boteju each had three assists, with Cassidy Rooke having the other assist for DU. Boe had the only service ace in the set for Denver, her second on the season, and Willis had four assisted blocks, teaming up with Baird and Latham twice.

UP NEXT: Denver hosts Western Illinois and South Dakota next Friday (7 p.m. MT) and Sunday (1 p.m.). Friday's match will be Teacher/Faculty Appreciation Night, and Sunday's match has been designated this year's Pink Match.

SEASON TICKETS: Tickets for the 2017 Denver volleyball season are on sale now and can be PURCHASED HERE.

PIONEER MOVEMENT: 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.

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