DENVER - The University of New Orleans volleyball team put up a fight,
but it was not enough as they fell to Sun Belt West Division leading
Denver 3-1 (31-33,30-26,31-29,30-26) on Friday night.
UNO (14-13, 8-6 SBC) was led by
Lindsey Boler, who tallied a career-high 28 kills.
Dobrilla Kovacevic added 13 kills to the Privateers attack.
Jaci Bayley had 55 assists to direct the offense while Kovacevic had a career-high 21 digs to lead the Privateers on the defensive end.
Lauren Loeffelholz matched a season-high with 16 digs while
Nicky Valenti added 16 of her own.
Bethany Kern had 13 and Bayley had 12 to round out the Privateers who notched double-digit digs.
DU (18-11, 12-3 SBC) received 24 kills from Kim Muller in the win. Holly Benson had 14 kills while Alyssa Hampton added 12 as the Pioneers hit .195 for the match.
Kresson Vreeman had a match-high 64 assists while Kacie Wikierak led the Pioneers with 33 digs. Benson added 18 while Hampton had 13 for DU.
The Pioneers jumped out in the fourth game to a 16-8 lead. UNO rallied to bring the DU lead down to two at 27-25 before the Pioneers took the match with a 30-26 fourth game win.
DU would take a lead as large as four in the third game before the Privateers would take a 20-19 lead. UNO would have two chances to close out the game with a 29-27 lead only to see DU score four straight points to take the third game win.
Riding the momentum from the first game, the Privateers jumped out to a 9-4 lead to open the second game. DU responded with a 14-5 run to take control at 18-14. UNO rallied within one at 26-25 before DU won four of the final five points to knot the match at one game apiece heading into the break.
In the opening frame, the Privateers led the Pioneers 19-16 before the Pioneers went on a 7-2 run to take a lead at 23-21. DU had two chances to win the game, holding a 29-27 lead, before UNO closed the game with a 6-2 run to take a 33-31 win.
The Privateers continue their road trip with a 1 p.m Sunday tilt against North Texas. UNO defeated the Mean Green 3-1 earlier this season in New Orleans.
