Senior setter Grace Anetipa had 15 assists in a 3-0 loss to Summit League No. 2 ranked University of Denver Thursday at Schoenecker Arena.
Thursday’s loss extended the Tommies (2-18, 1-9 Summit) losing streak to nine games as they have not won a game since their home-opener against North Dakota on Sept. 30. The last time the Tommies faced the Pioneers (17-2, 8-1 Summit) was Sept. 25, where they also fell 3-0.
“Denver’s obviously at the top of the league for a reason,” coach Thanh Pham said. “I thought we hung in there for points, but overall, the better team did win.”
The Tommies fell 25-18, 25-14 and 25-13 but kept the sets close at the start, tying up the score seven times within the first two sets before succumbing to the Pioneers’ Division I experience.
Although the Tommies’ upperclassmen did not put up their usual statistics in the match, the underclassmen were able to pick up some of the load. First-year outside hitter Lauren Galvin had ten kills, accompanied by six more from sophomore middle blocker Ellie Dammann and sophomore sight side Claire Ricard.
While nine of the 12 players who played for the Pioneers were upperclassmen, the Tommies lineup featured just four juniors and seniors. Of those four upperclassmen, three of them made their full return from injury and illness Thursday.
Senior outside hitter Fran Egan played her first full-match since Sept. 23, when an injury gave her limited playing time over the Tommies’ last four matches. Anetipa and junior middle blocker Selena Levendoski played in their second full game back since Sept. 30 and Oct. 2, respectively.
“Being able to have Selena, being able to have Fran, I just think we all work really well together and we’ve developed this culture that’s just uncomparable,” Anetipa said.
The three upperclassmen added a combined four kills and one ace for the Tommies in the match.
Pham was happy to have their leadership back on the court as well.
“I couldn’t be more blessed with such great upperclassmen,” Pham said. “They know what it means to be a Tommie and they exemplify that night-in and night-out.”
The Tommies are set to face Summit League No. 1 ranked University of Nebraska-Omaha Saturday, Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. at Schoenecker Arena. The Tommies fell Sept. 23 in three sets to the Mavericks 25-16, 25-11 and 25-15.
“We’re going in knowing that they’re number one, knowing that Omaha beat Denver,” Egan said. “At the same time, I think that we can have a better showing than the last time we played Omaha.”
Cam Kauffman can be reached at kauf8536@stthomas.edu.