VOLL v South Dakota (21 NOV 15) - Highlights
VOLL v South Dakota (21 NOV 15) - Post Game
VOLL v South Dakota (21 NOV 15) - Full Game

Box Score|Season Stats

DENVER - The University of Denver volleyball team advanced to the Summit League Championship with a 3-1 victory over No. 5 South Dakota (25-13, 25-14, 19-25, 25-21) Saturday in Hamilton Gymnasium. The first seeded Pioneers will face the winner of No. 2 IUPUI and No. 3 Omaha tomorrow at 2 p.m. MT.

Kayla Principato (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) andRuth Okoye (Aurora, Colo.) led the Pioneers with 14 kills and 13 kills, respectively. Okoye's 13 kills are a season high for a single match, and it was her seventh match this season without an error.

Denver performed better than the Coyotes in multiple categories, tallying 54 kills to South Dakota's 52, 50 assists to 47 and five aces to four. The Pioneers also notched 64 digs, while the Coyotes recorded 60, and had 9.0 total blocks to USD's 6.0 total blocks.

The Pioneers came out to a 5-0 lead to begin the match, setting the tone for the first half of the match. Denver maintained the lead for the rest of the first set, ultimately winning 25-13. The Pioneers hit .500 as a team in the first set, with 17 kills and only two errors. Principato led DU with five kills, while Okoye tallied four kills on five attempts for a .800 hitting percentage. SettersMonique Domme (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Piyusha Boteju (Euless, Texas) each ran the offense efficiently, tallying eight assists apiece. The Coyotes only recorded nine kills in the set, and liberoCassidy Rooke (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) notched seven digs in the first set.

Denver continued to dominate in the second set, winning 25-14 over the Coyotes. The Pioneers outhit South Dakota .323 to .026, forcing nine errors by USD. Principato led DU once again with three kills on three attempts;Cassie Baird (Indianapolis, Ind.) also recorded three kills in the set. Principato andSarah Schmid (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) each had two blocks in the set, while Boteju andNola Basey (Lyons, Colo.) each tallied five digs in the set.

The momentum swung in favor of the Coyotes following the intermission. Denver and South Dakota fought through eight ties before the Coyotes took the lead 19-18 and did not surrender it for the rest of the set, defeating Denver 25-19. Despite Okoye earning four kills on five attempts for the second time in three sets, the Pioneers struggled offensively, with five attacking errors in the set.

The Pioneers powered back in the fourth set to a 25-21 victory and a 3-1 win over USD. Once again, Denver and South Dakota battled, with 10 ties and five lead changes in the set. A five-point run, which featured kills from Moni Corrujedo (El Paso, Texas), Okoye, Baird and Becca Latham (Austin, Texas), gave Denver a 21-16 lead before an attack error from the Coyotes sealed DU's victory. Schmid led the Pioneers with four kills on four attempts and the lone Denver service ace in the final set, and Okoye and Principato each pitched in three kills. Baird led DU with six digs in the set to become the fourth Pioneer with double-digit digs along with Rooke (18), Basey (11) and Boteju (10).

Denver will face the winner of No. 2 IUPUI vs. No. 3 Omaha tomorrow at 2 p.m. MT in Hamilton Gymnasium. The match will be televised on Altitude and available online at espn3.com.

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