DENVER – Led by 10-kill performances from three Pioneers, the University of Denver volleyball team swept The Summit League leaders South Dakota on Saturday evening at Hamilton Gymnasium to improve to 14-11 on the season. The win bumps the Pioneers to 8-4 in league play and holds them in third place.

“We’re excited to get a win,” said head coach Jesse Mahoney. “South Dakota came in as the No. 1 team in our conference. We lost to them earlier this season and they have one of the best offenses in the conference. The players surprised me tonight with how well they played offensively and it was a really complete match for us.”

Sophomore transfer Sarah Schmid (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and freshmen Moni Corrujedo (El Paso, Texas) and Nola Basey (Lyons, Colo.) all finished with 10 kills each to lead the Pioneers, while sophomore setter Tori Moons (Visalia, Calif.) recorded 37 assists. Senior middle-blocker Brea Muhle (Columbus, Neb.) once again posted the highest attack percentage of the match with a .615 off a 9-1-13 performance. Muhle ranks No. 7 in the nation in attack percentage.

Kendall Kritenbrink led the Coyotes with 17 kills, while setter Tori Kroll notched 34 assists.

The Pioneers came out strong in the first set, hitting at a .438 clip as Basey paced the Pioneers with five kills to take a 25-21 win. Denver Despit a .258 hitting percentage in the second set, the Pioneers did finished with a game-high .830 side-out percentage to win 25-18.

Action was much closer in the third set as both teams were unable to amount a substantial advantage. With the score tied 19-19, the Pioneers grabbed the lead of a kill by Schmid and then rattled off the next five points off serving by Corrujedo to take the set 25-19.

Prior to the start of the match, the Pioneers honored their four seniors as Colleen King (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), Muhle, Cassie Ronda (Chandler, Ariz.) and Kate Oakes (Evergreen, Colo.) were recognized.

Up next, the Pioneers head back on the road to take on Western Illinois on Friday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. The Pioneers then play their final match in conference play on Sunday, Nov. 17 at Omaha at 1 p.m. before heading to Indianapolis, Ind., to take part in The Summit League Championships from Nov. 22-24.

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