Box Score

VERMILLION, S.D. - The University of Denver women's volleyball team capped off a five-match battle on Friday night at the University of South Dakota's Den. The match resulted in the sixth loss of the season for the Pioneers (25-23, 21-25, 17-25, 25-19, 10-15).

The Pioneers kept a steady balance with their opponents throughout the first and second sets, but began to falter in the third. Within the fifth set, Denver made a great comeback fueling a four-point run from six to ten before a kill by USD's Kendall Kritenbrink led the Coyotes into their sixteenth season victory.

"It was a good volleyball match and I'm proud of how our team battled in this hostile environment," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "However, we came out passive in the fifth set and allowed South Dakota a big lead early on and couldn't recover. It will be another great match if we face them in the Summit League tournament, I have no doubt."

Junior Sarah Schmid took the lead for the Crimson and Gold with 16 kills at a .556 hitting rate. Other stat leaders for this match included senior Bailey Karst with 46 assists and one ace, senior Erica Denney with seven blocks and freshman Cassidy Rooke with 20 digs.

Next, Denver will face Oral Roberts University this Sunday at 1 p.m. MT at Kenneth H. Cooper Aerobics Center.