VERMILLION, S.D. – The University of Denver volleyball team fought hard but saw its season come to a close on Thursday, losing in a highly contested five-set match to South Dakota State (25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 10-15) at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The loss eliminated the Pioneers from the Summit League Tournament.

Inside the Box Score

• Hailey Green turned in her biggest match of the year, recording a career-high 23 kills.
• Lydia Bartalo closed out her stellar DU career with her 10th double-double (11 kills, 23 digs) this year. The 23 digs marked a new career high for the Colorado Springs native.  
• Tina Boe wrapped up her collegiate career with another efficient performance, getting 13 kills with a .444 hitting percentage.
• Ari Winters added nine kills.
• Ellie Anderson finished her final match in a DU uniform with 32 assists.

Significant Stats

• DU had its 18-match winning streak against SDSU snapped with the loss.
• Denver dropped to 2-4 this year when hitting under .200 in a match.
• The Pioneers recorded 67 kills on the day, third most this year.  

Turning Point
South Dakota State using an 8-1 run to start the fifth set.

1st Set
Pioneers picked up the first two points of the match from all-league selections Boe and Bartalo. Denver used a 3-0 run to push their lead to four at 12-8 after an ace from Boe, causing the Jackrabbits to take a timeout. Bartalo gave the Crimson and Gold a five-point advantage at 17-12, her third kill of the match. DU kept up the good play, taking the set 25-19 on a kill from Winters, her second.

2nd Set
SDSU opened the second set hot, scoring the first five points, causing Denver to take a timeout. A 5-0 run from the Pioneers brought them into the match at 8-7 after a kill from Hailey Green. DU tied it up after a big block from Boe made it 16-16. South Dakota State responded with three straight points after that, making Denver take a timeout. The Pioneers made it interesting scoring three in a row to cut it to 24-23, but the Jackrabbits got the set point to tie the match up at 1-1.

3rd Set
DU opened the third set right, going up 4-2. SDSU retook the lead though at 8-7 on an attack error from the Crimson and Gold. Denver got back up at 12-11 after a good rally ended with Briana Green picking up her fifth kill. The Pioneers got up two late after a bad set from SDSU made it 20-18, resulting in a timeout from South Dakota State. Denver closed it out strong, taking the set 25-21.

4th Set
The Jackrabbits got another strong start in the fourth, taking a 5-1 lead before a 10-4 run from the Pioneers was capped off by Lydia Bartalo's fourth ace of the contest. A 6-1 run from SDSU put them up 15-12, causing DU to take a timeout to regroup. Denver responded though, tying at 17-17 after an ace from Ryen Wilkens. South Dakota State made a move to go up at 22-20. The Jackrabbits were able to close it out and keep their season alive, 25-23.

5th Set
SDSU went up with a matching-changing 8-1 run to start the fifth. The Crimson and Gold fought back, closing to within four at 11-7 after another ace from Wilkens. But the Jackrabbits took it home from there, closing it out 15-10 to advance to the semifinal round.

Up Next
The Pioneers (23-6, 14-4 SL) will return to the court in the fall of 2022.  

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