DENVER, COLO- The University of Denver volleyball team returns home this weekend after opening Summit League play on the road. The Pioneers will open the weekend with South Dakota State and close with a Sunday afternoon matchup against South Dakota.

Denver Recap: The Pios are coming off a 1-1 weekend, falling to Purdue Fort Wayne to open Summit League play but bouncing back with a sweep of Oral Roberts to wrap up the weekend. They enter Friday's matchup with a 9-5 overall record. Denver's top performers continue to shine, with junior Lydia Bartalo leading the Crimson and Gold in kills averaging 2.84 per set. Defensively, freshman middle blocker, Brianna Green leads the Summit League in blocks per set averaging 1.55 through 14 matches. Freshman, Kalea Fobert enters Friday after making a big impact offensively in the Pioneers sweep of Oral Roberts on Sunday. Fobert led the Pios in kills with ten, locking in her second double-digit kill match of her collegiate career. As a team, Denver averages 11.98 kills and 2.14 blocks per set.
 
DENVER vs. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
  Fri., Oct.4, 2019 • 7:00 PM MT
    Location: Denver, Colo.
    Overall: 12-0| Last Meeting: Oct 26., 2018

Scouting the Jackrabbits: The Jackrabbits enter their third Summit League match of the year with a 4-10 overall record and a 1-1 record in conference action. Offensively SDSU has recorded 611 kills on the year, averaging 11.3 per set. They're led by senior outside hitter, Makenzie Hennen who has totaled 193 kills, averaging 3.57 per set. As a team, SDSU has an attack percentage of .164 through their 14 matches. Defensively the Jackrabbits average 1.6 blocks per set, led by freshman middle hitter Anna Nerad who averages 0.93 blocks per set.

Last Meeting: Denver enters the match undefeated against South Dakota State, taking all 12 matches from the Jackrabbits. Their last matchup came on October 26^th, 2018. The Pios took the last match 3-0 on October 26^th as part of their perfect 15-0 Summit League run in 2019.  
 
DENVER vs. SOUTH DAKOTA
  Sun., Oct. 6, 2019  •  12:00 PM MT
    Location: Denver, Colo.
    Overall: 12-2| Last Meeting: Nov. 18., 2018

Scouting South Dakota: The Coyotes will enter Sunday's matchup following their Friday match against Nebraska-Omaha. South Dakota heads into the weekend with a 13-1 overall record to go along with a perfect 2-0 record in the Summit League. The Coyotes average 14.8 kills per set, led by freshman Elizabeth Juhnke who led the Summit League averaging 4.31 kills per set. Ranked third in the Summit League is fellow outside hitter Sami Slaughter who averages 3.69 kills per set. Defensively, South Dakota is led by libero, Anne Rasmussen who ranks first in the Summit League in digs per set, averaging 4.71 through 29 sets played.

Last Meeting: The Pioneers lead the series with 12 wins and four losses. The last meeting between the two squads came on November, 18^th in the Summit League Tournament Championship match. The Pios fell to the Coyotes in five sets on their home court.


DENVER TICKET OFFICE:
Tickets for volleyball games during the 2019 season are on sale now and can be purchased here.

SHOP PIONEERS:
Get dressed for Game Day! Get your Pioneers gear at ShopPioneers.com, the official online store of University of Denver Athletics.
 
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