DENVER— The University of Denver women's volleyball team will start the 2018 season on the road in Salt Lake City this weekend, competing in the Utah Volleyball Classic. The Pioneers will begin with a match against Saint Mary's at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 24, and will continue competition into Saturday, Aug. 25 against UC Irvine at 10 a.m. and Utah at 7 p.m. MT.
TOURNAMENT UPDATE:
Pioneers won Friday evening against Saint Mary's 3-1. Recap.
Pioneers won Saturday morning against UC Irvine 3-2. Recap.
Pioneers lose Saturday evening against No. 19 Utah 2-3. Recap.
Denver finished the 2017 campaign with an overall record of 23-6, going 12-2 in The Summit League and earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Pioneers enter the upcoming season having lost seven student-athletes, including five starters. Head coach
Tom Hogan will rely on seniors
Becca Latham and
Emma Willis, along with starting setter
Ellie Anderson, to lead the team to another victorious year.
Saint Mary's finished the 2017 season with a 9-19 overall record and a 5-13 mark in the West Coast Conference. This year, the Gales welcome six newcomers under head coach Rob Browning and assistant coaches Mandy Bible and Otavio Souza. SMC was represented internationally this past summer as Lindsey Calvin played in the 2018 Global Challenge in Pula, Croatia, and Sarah Chase played for the Canadian women's national team.
UC Irvine returns five starters and 12 returners from their 2017 squad, four of which were All-Big West selections. The Anteaters also welcome five newcomers to the roster as they look to build off their 24-8 record from last season under head coach Ashlie Hain. UCI led the Big West in service aces in 2017 and was ranked 26th nationally with a 1.55 season average.
Utah enters the 2018 season ranked No. 19 in the AVCA Preseason Poll. The Utes return seven letterwinners from last year's squad, including four starters. Utah finished the 2017 campaign 24-10, making it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Senior middle blocker, Berkeley Oblad, was recently named to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference team after she totaled 300 kills and 142 blocks in 2017. Utah is led by head coach Beth Launiere and associate head coach Malia Shoji.
The Pioneers will open their home schedule on Aug. 31 with the Denver Classic tournament, the first of three-consecutive home tournaments for DU. The Pioneers went 14-1 at home last season.
