DENVER – The University of Denver volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-20, 28-26, 25-23) to visiting North Dakota State on Friday evening at Hamilton Gymnasium in The Summit League action. The loss brings the Pioneers to 12-11 on the season, 6-4 in league action.

The win brings the Bison to 4-18 on the year, 4-5 in league play.

“It was a tough match,” said head coach Jesse Mahoney. “I thought North Dakota State played well, won the serve-pass game and out defended us. Offensively, we struggled to get the ball in-system and score on the left-side especially. It was a new rotation for us, having to run the 5-1 with Tori all match. While I think we did the best we could at it, we just didn’t play well enough to get the win.”

Freshman Nola Basey (Lyons, Colo.) led all scorers with 13 kills, while senior Brea Muhle (Columbus, Neb.) chipped in 11.

Sophomore setter Tori Moons (Visalia, Calif.) set a career-high with 39 assists. The Pioneers spread the ball around defensively as Basey and freshman Moni Corrujedo (El Paso, Texas) tallied 12 digs, respectively, and junior Kate Acker (Waukesha, Wis.) finished with 11.

The Bison distributed their scoring evenly among their hitters as Hadley Steffen, Emily Miron and Jenni Fassbender all finished with eight kills each. Setter Monica Claxton tallied 27 assists and libero Emily Milligan notched 24 digs.

Up next, Denver remains at home, hosting South Dakota State on Sunday at 2 p.m. MT at Hamilton Gymnasium.

TICKETS/MEDIA

Tickets are still available for Sunday’s match and can be purchased online at www.DenverPioneers.com/Tickets. Live stats will be available and Sunday’s match against SDSU will be broadcast live on Pioneer Vision.

SUMMIT LEAGUE UPDATE

Denver sits at 12-11 on the season, 6-4 in league play. South Dakota and IUPUI lead the league with identical 8-2 league marks. The Pioneers follow the Coyotes and the Jaguars to sit in third place, while Fort Wayne and Western Illinois round out the top-five.

THE SERIES WITH THE JACKRABBITS

The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series with the Pioneers 2-1. Earlier this season, Denver swept SDSU on the road.

SCOUTING THE JACKRABBITS

South Dakota State sits at the bottom of the pack with a 3-19 overall record, 1-8 in league play. Wagner Larson leads the Jackrabbits with 190 kills and has a .230 hitting percentage. Tiara Gibson is second on the team with 122 kills. Defensively, Lizzie Palmer has 259 digs for a 3.70 digs per set average, while Larson and Gibson lead the team with 52 and 50 blocks, respectively.

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