Category Archives: Volleyball

Soccer Teams Drop First Games of the Season

Both DU men’s and women’s soccer fell in the past week to Portland and  Colorado, respectively. The men’s team then followed their loss with a heart-stopping draw vs. Seattle on the road Monday night. Denver volleyball returned home from a six-game roadtrip and earned their first win of the season over Idaho State. Continue reading Soccer Teams Drop First Games of the Season

Denver Volleyball Faces Massive Challenges

Denver volleyball just fell to 0-6, losing all their games on the road and won just one game while dropping 18 during that span.

How should fans view Denver Volleyball this season following coaching changes and a player exodus? Denver volleyball has always been one of the most successful fall programs at DU. With only five losing seasons, all in their first 13 years, after turning D1 in 1999, they have not experienced a losing season since 2011 while racking up three 27-win seasons and seven single-digit loss seasons along with numerous NCAA appearances and conference titles. DU’s 2002 volleyball team had the programs worst record at 7-20 but the other four losing record teams were able to scrape together 13-16 wins. This year’s team will be challenged not to have the worst record in program history – but time will tell. Continue reading Denver Volleyball Faces Massive Challenges

Denver Announces New Volleyball Head Coach Megan Pendergast

Denver announced Megan Pendergast as DU’s new head coach for volleyball Monday afternoon after a lengthy search. Pendergast recently completed her third season as a UCLA Bruins’ assistant coach/recruiting coordinator. Prior to that, she coached at Oklahoma and Tulsa. Pendergast played college volleyball as a libero for Texas A&M.

Continue reading Denver Announces New Volleyball Head Coach Megan Pendergast

Denver Volleyball Headed for a Hard Landing

DU’s head volleyball coach Tom Hogan stepped down on April 6th. As of this writing, the open head coaching position has not been filled and all the team assistant coaching positions remain open. While DU is expected to announce a hire this week, Denver has missed the transfer portal window and lost talent in the interim. Starting middle blocker Brianna Green transferred to TCU while setter Lauren Carter left for Northwestern along with setter Emma Ziegler to Creighton. Setter Lorrin Poulter is using her 5th year at Purdue. Maddie Hensen is going to Iowa. Future recruits de-committed as Canadian Olympian Lydia Johnson jumped to Michigan and Sydney Barrett switched to Dayton. Denver is left with no setters, a critical position, on the squad and only one middle, Cadi Boyer. The team has not finalized its non-conference schedule for 2023-24 and play begins in only eleven weeks. Continue reading Denver Volleyball Headed for a Hard Landing

Tom Hogan to Exit the Helm of Women’s Volleyball

Head DU volleyball coach Tom Hogan stepped aside today from coaching at the University of Denver.  The University cited health as the key reason for Hogan’s departure. Hogan battled testicular cancer this past season and is reported to be cancer-free. Tom had a sterling 133-36 (81-14 Summi League) record as skipper of DU volleyball over the course of 11 seasons. He was elevated from the DU volleyball staff when former head coach Jessie Mahoney left DU to become head coach of his alma mater, the Colorado Buffalos. Continue reading Tom Hogan to Exit the Helm of Women’s Volleyball

A Season of Trials Ends for No Quit Denver Volleyball

“We’re never going to be that perfect volleyball team – it’s always going to be a battle.” Andrea Beaty – Interim Head Volleyball Coach

Sometimes, the best lessons come with challenges, hardships and yes, losses. DU volleyball (19-12) had character-shaping hurdles all season long and emerged as a strong, resilient group, capable of overcoming nearly any challenge put in front of them, on or off the court. Continue reading A Season of Trials Ends for No Quit Denver Volleyball

DU Athletes Deliver Outstanding Week of Performances

We told you about the Pioneer’s HUGE hockey road sweep of North Dakota – the program’s first sweep of UND in Grand Forks since 2010; Denver men’s soccer winning the Summit League Tournament; and, DU men’s basketball’s 2-0 start this past week. DU hockey earns a bye this week. DU soccer was awarded a Thursday home NCAA Tournament home match against San Diego while DU men’s basketball plays at Hamilton Gym tonight before traveling to the MTE New Orleans Tournament Mid-Week. Continue reading DU Athletes Deliver Outstanding Week of Performances

Fall Sports Begin to Wind Down, DU Triathlon Set for NCAA Title Quest

Denver volleyball (16-10, 10-5) split their home matches this week. Denver sped by Oral Roberts 3-0 on Thursday but fell to UMKC 3-1 Saturday on Senior Day. Lauren Poulter had 34 assists and DU had a balanced attack to sweep the ORU Golden Eagles. On Saturday, Summit League volleyball teams honored DU’s Coach Tom Hogan with pre-match t-shirts recognizing his battle against testicular cancer. No doubt, the emotions associated with Senior Day and Tom Hogan were at the top of mind of fans and players in Hamilton Gym. UMKC played a solid match and a number of their fans traveled to Denver for additional support in the road win for the Roos. Continue reading Fall Sports Begin to Wind Down, DU Triathlon Set for NCAA Title Quest

Pioneers Pile Up Victories Aside a Stunning Defeat

The sudden end of the #1 seed DU women’s soccer (11-4-4, 8-0-1) season came Sunday afternoon during the Summit League Tournament semifinals at Pioneer Field. The underdog #4 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (10-9-2, 4-5-0) bunkered in during the game, packing the back line, failing to go on the offensive, and hoping for overtime and a shootout. After a scoreless regulation draw and extra time, the Golden Eagles got their wish and took down DU 3-2 during PK’s.  Denver outshot ORU 14-3 and shots-on-goal 5-3 but the Pioneers could not find the back of the net. The final result marked a shocking end to DU’s post-season hopes after an undefeated conference regular season.  #2 seed, South Dakota State fell to Omaha as the top two seeds were booted from the Summit League Tournament. Continue reading Pioneers Pile Up Victories Aside a Stunning Defeat