Who: Denver (0-0) vs. Omaha (1-1)
What: Game 1
Where: Hamilton Gymnasium 
When: Jan. 31 (3:00 p.m. MT) & Feb. 1, 2021 (2:00 p.m. MT)
Last Time Out
The Pioneers fell 3-0 to host Stanford in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Dec. 6. Denver qualified for the NCAA tournament for sixth straight year after winning the Summit League Championship for the fifth time in program history. The Crimson & Gold defeated No. 3 seed Purdue Fort Wayne and No. 4 seed Omaha in the conference tournament by scores of 3-1.

Series History
Denver is 15-1 all-time vs. Omaha and are on a 10-match winning streak vs. the Mavericks. Eight of those wins came in straight sets. Last season, the Pioneers went 3-0 vs. Omaha including a 3-1 victory against the Mavericks in the Summit League Championship. Denver's lone loss to Omaha was on Oct. 24, 2015.

What's Next
Denver will continue its season on Feb. 14-15 at South Dakota State.

Quick Points

• Denver will play a 16-match regular season in contrast to the 28-match regular season it played last season. This will mark the first season the Pioneers have played in January, February, March and April
• The Crimson & Gold went 23-9 last year to mark the program's seventh straight winning season
• Denver ranked 2nd in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll behind South Dakota. The Pioneers recieved two first-place votes. Lydia Bartalo & Tina Boe were named Players to Watch 
• Tom Hogan enters his fifth season at the helm with a 96-27 overall record (53-8 Summit League). He was hired as an assistant coach in 2012, promoted to associate head coach in 2014 and named head coach in December 2015. Denver is 89-12 in Hamilton Gymnasium since 2012
• Three Pioneers reached career milestones last year. Lydia Bartalo recorded her 500^th kill against Omaha on Oct. 15. Tina Boe posted her 500^th kill against South Dakota State on Nov. 1. Ellie Anderson tallied her 1,500^th career assist against South Dakota on Nov. 3
• Denver returns 12 players from last season and welcomes four newcomers including freshmen Ryen Wilkins, Gemma Tipping, Gianna Bartalo and grad transfer Erica Andrich
  • '20-21 Returners/Newcomers: Overall: 12/4, Setters: 3/0, Outside Hitters: 5/1, Middle Blockers: 2/1
• Five Pioneers received honors after the 2020 season      
  • AVCA All-American, AVCA Midwest All-Region Team, Summit League Player of the Year: Lydia Bartalo
    • Bartalo recorded a team-best 374 kills and 48 service aces. She led the Summit League in aces per set averaging 0.41
  • All-Summit League Team: Lydia Bartalo, Tina Boe
    • Boe ranked 2^nd in the Summit League in attack percentage (.362), tallied 208 kills and recorded 104 blocks
  • All-Summit League Honorable Mention: Ellie Anderson
    • Anderson ranked 7^th in Summit League in assists per set (5.21) and led the Pioneer offense with 610 assists
  • All-Summit League Freshman Team: Kalea Fobert, Brianna Green
    • Green tallied a team-high 131 blocks, ranking 3^rd in the Summit League in blocks per set (1.22)
    • Fobert appeared in 96 sets for the Pioneers, recording 204 kills and 57 blocks
• The Pioneers have three players playing professionally: Emma Willis (Switzerland), Becca Latham (Italy) and Cassie Baird (Czech Republic)

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES: For the latest University of Denver updates on the coronavirus, click here.

DONATE: Fans interested in making a donation to the Pioneers Athletic Fund can do so by clicking here. Your gift will transform the lives of our student-athletes by giving them the first-class resources needed to excel in the classroom, in the classroom and beyond. Thank you for Building Pioneers for Life!
 
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