DENVER, CO --Molly Mirabelli racked up nine kills with a .529 hitting percentage to help power the Denver volleyball team to a five-set win (25-14, 25-17, 20-25, 21-25, 16-14) against the St. Thomas (MN) Tommies Thursday in Hamilton Gymnasium.
The win improved the Pioneers' record to 9-10 overall and 8-3 in Summit action.
The Pioneers offense was paced by Cadi Boyer, who finished with 15 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .542. Cassie Davis added 14 and MacKenzie Fidelak chipped in with 10 as part of balanced Denver attack. Defensively, Denver had two players reach double figures in digs as Gianna Bartalo had 24 and Alayna Finucan had 16. From the front row, Mirabelli contributed nine blocks and Fidelak added a season-high five rejections.
Game Notes
» Denver had three players in double figures in kills.
» Molly Mirabelli was efficient in attacking situations in the match, accumulating nine kills while hitting .529.
» Alayna Finucan had a team-high three aces in the win.
» Cadi Boyer had a match-high 15 kills for Denver.
» Denver got a match-high 24 digs from Gianna Bartalo.
» Denver attackers were helped by a match-high 47 assists from Briley Decker.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Pioneers took control of the set-one lead at 6-5 and never trailed to win 25-14. Denver opened up its biggest lead, 11 points, to close out the set, totaling 15 kills while only notching one attack error in the process.
SET 2 | After their win in the first set, Denver put themselves on the cusp of a sweep with a 25-17 victory in set number two. The Pioneers never trailed by more than five points and grabbed the advantage for good at 8-7 in a set that had just one lead change before Denver took over the lead. The Denver offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.
SET 3 | Denver saw its chance at a 3-0 sweep end when St. Thomas (MN) took set three. The Pioneers couldn't endure a furious St. Thomas (MN) rally, losing 25-20 after leading by nine points at 18-9 earlier in the set.
SET 4 | Denver then dropped their second straight set 25-21 to brind the match level at two sets apiece. St. Thomas (MN) grabbed the advantage for good at 10-9 and Denver was never able to recover in a set that was tied up eight times before the Tommies took over the lead.
SET 5 | Denver needed five sets to seal the match win. After they jumped out to an early two sets to none lead, St. Thomas (MN) responded to take the third and fourth sets before the Pioneers finished off their victory with a 16-14 fifth-set win. The Pioneers came out on top of a tight fifth-set battle, winning a stanza that was tied three times and had two lead changes.
This article created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
