DENVER – The University of Denver volleyball program will begin its first season under the direction of head coach Megan Pendergast with a trip to UC Santa Barbara's "The Thunderdome Classic". This week's three-day event will begin on Friday.
DENVER'S SCHEDULE AT UCSB
Friday – vs. North Florida – 5 p.m. MT
Saturday – at UC Santa Barbara – 8 p.m. MT – ESPN+
Sunday – vs. New Mexico State – 12 p.m. MT
THE PENDERGAST FILE
Pendergast begins her first season in charge of the Pioneers on Friday, her first game as an NCAA head coach after stints as an assistant coach at UCLA, Oklahoma and Tulsa. In her career as an assistant, Pendergast helped her teams to a 166-104 record, including 103-71 in conference games and 73-41 in home games. In her last three seasons as an assistant at UCLA, the Bruins went 59-25 and 43-17 in the Pac-12.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTH FLORIDA
Friday marks the third-ever meeting between Denver and North Florida and first since 1995. DU is 0-2 in the series with both games being played a neutral sites during the Air Force Tournament
SERIES HISTORY VS. UC SANTA BARBARA
Denver is 1-1 all-time against UCSB, with both previous meetings occurring at home. The Pioneers won the last meeting in five sets in 2018.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NEW MEXICO STATE
Denver is 3-12 in its Division I history against New Mexico State, including 0-1 in neutral site matches. The two programs last met in Las Cruces in 2015, a match NMSU won in five.
PRESEASON POLL AND WATCH LIST
Denver was picked to finish sixth in the Summit League in a vote of the league's coaches before the start of the 2023 season. Gianna Bartalo and Cadi Boyer were tabbed as players to watch by the league.
NEWCOMERS
Since Pendergast's hiring in June, the Pioneers have added both assistant coaches and four new student-athletes to round out the 2023 roster in Kate Perryman, Briley Decker and Molly and Emma Mirabelli. Baylor transfer Cassie Davis was also added in the offseason to bring the newcomer list to five.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the 2023 volleyball season are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
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