DENVER – Coming off their sixth straight win on Sunday, the University of Denver volleyball team will head to South Dakota for a pair of Summit League matches, beginning with South Dakota State (6 PM MT) on Friday and South Dakota on Sunday (11 AM MT).

Denver enters the weekend following two wins against Purdue Fort Wayne and Oral Roberts, extending their win streak to six in a row. The Pioneers travel to South Dakota holding a 16-6 record overall and an 8-2 standing in the Summit League, moving them up to second in the conference rankings at number two. As a team, the Pioneers offense averages 12.69 kills per set, led by junior outside hitter Lydia Bartalo. Bartalo recorded her sixth double-double of the season in Denver's win over Oral Roberts. Bartalo also tied the third highest single-set service ace record, recording six against ORU. Following a season high of 12 service aces, DU ranks second in the Summit League with 136 service aces. Defensively, the Pios average 2.1 blocks per set. Brianna Green and Tina Boe have paired up for a combined 152 blocks through 22 matches.

DENVER vs. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
  Fri., Nov. 1, 2019 • 6:00 PM MT
    Location: Brookings, S.D.
    Overall: 13-0 | Last Meeting: Oct  4, 2019

Scouting the Jackrabbits: SDSU enters the weekend with a 5-17 overall record and a 2-8 standing in Summit League action. The Jackrabbits are coming off a two-loss weekend, falling to North Dakota State and Western Illinois. As a team the jackrabbits average 11.02 kills per set and average 1.65 blocks per set while leading the Summit League in solo blocks, recording 45 through 22 matches. Makenzie Hennen leads the jackrabbits offensively, averaging 3.17 kills per set while Madison Fay has a team team high 5.75 assists per set. Feshman middle hitter, Anna Nerad leads SDSU in blocks with 60.

Last Matchup: The last meeting between the two teams came on October 4^th, 2019. The Pioneers took down SDSU in four sets (25-13, 25-15, 29-31, 25-18) in Denver to secure their second Summit League victory of the season. DU out-hit the Jackrabbits .214-.075, while three Pios posted double-digit kill numbers in the contest.

DENVER vs. SOUTH DAKOTA
  Sun., Nov 3, 2019 • 11:00 AM MT
    Location: Vermillion, S.D.
    Overall: 12-5| Last Meeting: Oct 6, 2019
 
Scouting the Coyotes: South Dakota enters the weekend as the top ranked team in the Summit League with an undefeated record in Summit League play at 10-0 while sitting at 21-1 overall. Their only loss came back in September when they fell to Iowa State in three sets. USD runs an offense led by freshman outside hitter, Elizabeth Juhnke who ranks first in the Summit League averaging 4.00 kills per set. Juhnke also leads the defense, totaling 58 blocks on the year. As a team the Coyotes have an attack percentage of .268 and rank first in the Summit League averaging 2.46 blocks per set.

Last Matchup: The Pioneers and Coyotes last met in Denver on October 6^th, 2019. The Coyotes handed the Pioneers their second Summit League loss of the year taking the match 3-2 (25-23, 11-25, 20-25, 25-16, 15-13). Denver led the Coyotes in four categories through the five-set match, recording 83 digs, 46 assists, 10 service aces and 54 kills in the contest.

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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