TULSA, Okla. -- The Denver Pioneers swept the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (25-23, 25-16, 25-22) on Thursday night in the Maybee Center to open Summit League play. 

Ava Reynolds paced the Pioneer offense with 11 kills and Genevieve Lewis added eight of her own. Defensively, Madison Winkler made nine digs and Reynolds chipped in eight. Izabela Molina made four blocks at the net and Jamia Johnson tacked on three more.

NOTABLES:

• Ilayda Eren tallied 18 assists and Izzy Rawlings added 10. 
• Reynolds led the team with 11.5 points.
• Denver mounted a .524 hitting percentage in the second set and a .233 hitting percentage overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE
The Pioneers and the Golden Eagles battled back and forth throughout the first set. In a stanza with 16 ties and nine lead changes, Denver took a late lead and earned the 25-23 win.

SET TWO
ORU took an early 4-0 run to build an 8-4 lead to start the second set. DU battled back with a run of their own to tie it at 8-8. The Pioneers put together 14 kills and a .524 hitting percentage and took command to earn the 25-16 second stanza victory.

SET THREE
Both teams traded kills to start the third set, before Denver took the 9-8 lead. The Pioneers poured on the offense with 14 kills in the final stanza to earn the 25-22 win.

Up Next:
Denver returns to Hamilton Gymnasium to take on Kansas City on Saturday afternoon. Opening serve is set for 1 p.m. MT on the Summit League Network.

Tickets:
Tickets are on sale now for the 2025 Denver volleyball season. Purchase tickets for the rest of the 2025 campaign here.
 

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