DENVER, COLO- The University of Denver volleyball team took down South Dakota State to lock in their second Summit League victory of the season 3-1 (13-25, 15-25, 31-29, 25-18) on their home court on Friday.

The win improves DU to 10-5 overall and 2-1 in Summit League play while the Jackrabbits fall to 4-11 overall and 1-2 in Summit League action.

The Pios jumped out to an early 5-0 lead right out of the gate. Kills by a pair of freshmen in Ari Winters and Brianna Green, stretched the Denver lead to 5-12 before a kill from Amanda Green helped build the Denver advantage to 17-10, forcing an SDSU timeout. Ending the set on a seven-point tear, Denver went up 1-0 on SDSU with a 25-13 set one victory.

Setting the tone early in set two was junior Lydia Bartalo who slammed consecutive kills to give the Crimson and Gold a three-point lead at 8-5. The Crimson and Gold used a 5-0 run midway through to take a 22-12 advantage before two kills down the stretch locked in their second set victory at 25-15.

The Jackrabbits came alive in set three, threatening Denver offensively by taking an early 6-3 lead. Back-to-back kills from Winters and Bartalo deadlocked the set at seven but the Jackrabbits answered with a 5-0 run to force a Denver timeout. Coming out of the huddle the Pioneers were able to cut the deficit to 19-16. With the help of a late 4-0 run the Pioneers tied things at 23 following a kill from Winters. Seeing five ties as each team fended off a string of set points, the Jackrabbits were finally able to run away with the set locking in the win at 31-29.

Denver began set four with a 4-2 lead but once again, SDSU was able to tie things at six. The Pioneers were able to find a 3-0 run midway through to jump to a 16-9 lead. Threatening late, South Dakota State used a 3-0 run of their own to cut the deficit to five at 21-16. With the Jackrabbits falling short in their comeback efforts, the Crimson and Gold took set four, 25-18 and the match 3-1.

Bartalo ended the night leading DU with a team-high eleven kills alongside senior Amanda Green who also added eleven on the night. Defensively, junior libero Macy Carrabine recorded a team-high 24 digs while Brianna Green dominated the net once again, locking in a team-high seven blocks. Freshman setter, Lorrin Poulter had a career night, setting up a team-high 24 assists.

Denver returns to action on Sunday in a 12 PM MT matchup against South Dakota.

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