In a marathon match at Hamilton gym, DU volleyball (23-1, 12-0 Summit) defeated the University of South Dakota (16-9, 12-3 Summit) 25-15, 25-27, 27-25. 24-26 & 15-12. DU moved to a ‘best ever’ record of 23 wins for the season – while extending their winning streak to 21 matches. This week, DU also received 5 votes by the American Volleyball Coaches Association and fell just outside the top 25 programs. With 330 D1 volleyball teams, head coach Tom hogan’s squad is making national noise.
The match looked to be easy early against the second place Coyotes. Denver took the first game 25-15 with relative ease. However, 16 service errors for the night kept South Dakota in the match. And, it was not just service errors – the match featured long rallies by both squads and some incredible saves and kills. The next three games required extra points to determine the winner with USD taking the second and fourth sets to stretch the match into a final deciding fifth game.
WHAT. A. MATCH.#GoPios | #PioneerTogether pic.twitter.com/Ge5xbjeCb8
— Denver Volleyball (@DU_Volleyball) October 31, 2018
Again, DU fell in a hole 10-6 in the final game and were on the brink of defeat. But a furious rally by Denver pulled the game even at 12-12. Then, Denver’s best server, Tina Boe, led Denver for their last three points for the Pioneer win. Tonight was the first time this season that a DU opponent had won a set on the Pioneers floor and South Dakota gave Denver all they could handle. But, ultimately, it was the Pioneers refusal to buckle under pressure that gave them the win.
Becca Latham and Katarina Marinkovic led the Pioneers with 16 and 14 kills respectively. Ellie Anderson and Lauren McManus had 33 and 24 assists. Macy Carrabine had 31 digs. Haley Dotseth and Elizabeth Loschen had 13 and 10 kills respectively and Madison Jurgens had 36 assists and 12 digs to lead the Coyotes.
DU’s final home match is this Friday against Oral Roberts at 7:00. If you have not seen DU volleyball play this season, this will be your last chance before Denver hosts the Summit League Tournament November 16th-18th.
Tim “SKI” Healy on the bongos. I’m inspired to stay awake at work today. Really glad we won and with a win Friday against ORU, we will garner votes in the polls again next week.
Great to see DU winning so much in regular season volleyball, but quite honestly, this year’s schedule is really weak. And winning the Summit in Volleyball is kind of like being the tallest pygmy – ok, but now what? It’s nice, but DU needs make the NCAA tournament and DO something once there, and not get swept out in the first match for program progress to be made. DU has made the big tournament every year since since 2014, and it’s the same story every year — DU has never won a single set in NCAA play, getting swept by CSU, Washington, Stanford and Cal-Poly in successive years. If they want to be considered a national level program, then it’s time to get the NCAA monkey off their back and beat someone in the big dance (or at least push them by winning a set or two…)
Hogan is targeting a regular Top 30 program. He needed a few years to build the team and they are ready to up their non-con schedule. They play Nebraska next season and they are going to need to follow DU men’s soccer and up their out-of-conference schedule. However, it has been a very impressive season with consistent play all season long. And, they took Utah to a 5th game on the road. Their RPI drops when they hit the Summit schedule. The Summit League’s RPI is 23 while the West Coast Conference (hint) is #5.
All good points. Head Coach Tom Hogan is targeting a Top 30 program for DU. Difficult with the Summit Conference ranked #23/32. The West Coast Conference is #5 (hint). Actually DU’s RPI drops when conference play begins. They did take an excellent Utah team to five games on the road and they are playing Nebraska next season. They are going to need to do what men’s soccer is doing and up the difficulty of their non-conference schedule. That being said, impressive performances this year with great consistency when winning that many games, especially on the road. In the NCAA’s, they are nearly always going to have to play a top 16 program in the first round – not an easy task. But, the progress over the last four years is truly remarkable.