Box Score DENVER— The University of Denver women's volleyball team defeated Samford 3-1 to wrap up the Denver Invitational on Saturday night inside Hamilton Gymnasium. DU overtook the Bulldogs by scores of 19-25, 25-20, 36-34, and 25-14.

The Pioneers improved to 11-1 for the 2018 campaign, remaining a perfect 9-0 at home in Hamilton.

"Samford is a really good team, and we're proud of the way that our team battled back and fought through adversity," said assistant coach Jesse Tupac. "It's nice to finish non-conference play with a win. We're looking forward to heading to Oral Roberts next week. The last time we saw them was the conference championships last season, so it will be nice to test our skills with some fresh faces on the squad."

Andrea Eddy Steps Up:
Sophomore Andrea Eddy tallied two kills, 19 assists, six aces, nine digs and one block against the Bulldogs. She shined in set three, where she recorded a stat in five different categories. This season, Eddy has totaled 191 assists and 13 aces for Denver.

Pioneer Performers:
Senior Becca Latham led the Pioneers with 15 kills, followed by Katarina Marinkovic (11), Lydia Bartalo (10) and Emma Willis (10). Tina Boe tallied eight total blocks against Samford, followed by Willis (4), Joachim (4), and Marinkovic (3). Ellie Anderson led the team with 25 total assists.

Denver Falls in Set One:
This is only the second match this season that DU lost the opening set (UC Irvine at the Utah Volleyball Classic - Aug. 25). The Crimson and Gold are 6-0 in 3-set matches, 2-0 in 4-set matches, and 3-1 in 5-set matches.

Set Three Insanity:
The third set of the match proved to be a challenge for both teams, but the Pioneers prevailed with a 36-34 victory. Denver and Samford were tied 17 times in the set. DU totaled 21 kills, three aces, and four blocks in the third set.

Team Snapshot:
Denver tallied 59 kills, .240 hitting percentage, 55 assists, 11 aces, and 13 blocks against the Bulldogs.

What's Next for the Pioneers:
On Friday, Sept. 21, the Pioneers will begin Summit League competition for the 2018 season. Denver will hit the road to compete against Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Oklahoma at 6 p.m. MT. On Sunday, Sept. 23, the Crimson and Gold will return home to host South Dakota State at 2 p.m. for Camp Reunion Night. The SDSU match will be broadcast live on Altitude TV.