DENVER – The University of Denver volleyball team closed out the regular season right on Saturday, rallying to take out Oral Roberts in five sets (25-23, 20-25, 17-25, 25-19, 15-10) in Hamilton Gymnasium on Senior Day. The win upped the Pioneers to 23-5 (14-4 Summit League) on the year, heading into postseason play.

Inside the Box Score

• Lydia Bartalo picked up her ninth double-double of the season, finishing with 15 kills and 11 digs.
• Hailey Green had her best match of the year, recording a career-best 15 kills.
• Brianna Green tallied 12 kills on a .524 hitting percentage.
• Tina Boe added 11 kills.

Significant Stats

• DU has now won 10 straight against the Golden Eagles.
• Denver improved to 108-11 at home since 2014.
• The Pioneers recorded 68 kills on the day, second most this year.  

Turning Point
Denver getting huge plays from Bartalo to take the fourth set handily and tying the match back up at 2-2.

1st Set
Oral Roberts opened with three straight points before Lydia Bartalo got on the board with a kill. ORU's lead grew to four at 13-9. Denver responded with four straight points to tie it up after an ace from Bartalo. The Golden Eagles made another push to take the lead but the Pioneers chased them down to tie it back up late at 19. Denver came up clutch, getting a point on a long rally to lead 24-21. DU went on to take it 25-23.

2nd Set
Oral Roberts got out to a 6-4 advantage early. A kill from the Golden Eagles gave them a five-point lead at 13-8, causing the Pioneers to take a timeout and regroup. ORU went on to take it 25-20 after hitting .483 in the set.

3rd Set
The Golden Eagles got off to a solid start in the third, going up 6-2. The Crimson and Gold came to life after that, recording some big kills from Lydia Bartalo to get back to within three at 12-9. ORU then found separation with a 7-4 run to go up 19-13, causing another Denver timeout. Oral Roberts went on to take it 25-17.

4th Set
Both teams traded points in the fourth, resulting in a 5-5 tie. The Pioneers thing got a much-needed 4-0 run, highlighted by a couple of big plays from Brianna Green, to go up 9-5. The Golden Eagles took a timeout after going down 11-7. Bartalo came up with numerous plays to push the DU lead to 17-9. ORU's comeback attempt came up short, as Denver took the set 25-18.

5th Set
Denver notched the first two points of the set, as part of a strong 8-4 start. Oral Roberts, though, closed back to within two with a 6-4 run of their own, causing the Pioneers to take a timeout. Denver though, scored the final three points to take it, 15-10.

Up Next
The Pioneers (23-5, 14-4 SL) head off to Vermillion, S.D. as the No. 3 seed for the upcoming Summit League Championship next week.

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