Pioneers Fall in Five to Jackrabbits in Quarterfinals

Thursday, November 25

Vermillion, S.D.

6 PM MT

University of Denver

23-6,14-4Summit League

South Dakota State

19-11,10-8Summit League

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
South Dakota St.	19	25	21	25	15	3
Denver	25	23	25	23	10	2

Photo by: Molly Sheppard

Pioneers Fall in Five to Jackrabbits in Quarterfinals

11/25/2021 9:06:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Hailey Green records career-best 23 kills in loss

VERMILLION, S.D. – The University of Denver volleyball team fought hard but saw its season come to a close on Thursday, losing in a highly contested five-set match to South Dakota State (25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 10-15) at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The loss eliminated the Pioneers from the Summit League Tournament.

Inside the Box Score

Hailey Green turned in her biggest match of the year, recording a career-high 23 kills.
Lydia Bartalo closed out her stellar DU career with her 10th double-double (11 kills, 23 digs) this year. The 23 digs marked a new career high for the Colorado Springs native.
Tina Boe wrapped up her collegiate career with another efficient performance, getting 13 kills with a .444 hitting percentage.
Ari Winters added nine kills.
Ellie Anderson finished her final match in a DU uniform with 32 assists.

Significant Stats

DU had its 18-match winning streak against SDSU snapped with the loss.
Denver dropped to 2-4 this year when hitting under .200 in a match.
The Pioneers recorded 67 kills on the day, third most this year.

Turning Point
South Dakota State using an 8-1 run to start the fifth set.

1st Set
Pioneers picked up the first two points of the match from all-league selections Boe and Bartalo. Denver used a 3-0 run to push their lead to four at 12-8 after an ace from Boe, causing the Jackrabbits to take a timeout. Bartalo gave the Crimson and Gold a five-point advantage at 17-12, her third kill of the match. DU kept up the good play, taking the set 25-19 on a kill from Winters, her second.

2nd Set
SDSU opened the second set hot, scoring the first five points, causing Denver to take a timeout. A 5-0 run from the Pioneers brought them into the match at 8-7 after a kill from Hailey Green. DU tied it up after a big block from Boe made it 16-16. South Dakota State responded with three straight points after that, making Denver take a timeout. The Pioneers made it interesting scoring three in a row to cut it to 24-23, but the Jackrabbits got the set point to tie the match up at 1-1.

3rd Set
DU opened the third set right, going up 4-2. SDSU retook the lead though at 8-7 on an attack error from the Crimson and Gold. Denver got back up at 12-11 after a good rally ended with Briana Green picking up her fifth kill. The Pioneers got up two late after a bad set from SDSU made it 20-18, resulting in a timeout from South Dakota State. Denver closed it out strong, taking the set 25-21.

4th Set
The Jackrabbits got another strong start in the fourth, taking a 5-1 lead before a 10-4 run from the Pioneers was capped off by Lydia Bartalo's fourth ace of the contest. A 6-1 run from SDSU put them up 15-12, causing DU to take a timeout to regroup. Denver responded though, tying at 17-17 after an ace from Ryen Wilkens. South Dakota State made a move to go up at 22-20. The Jackrabbits were able to close it out and keep their season alive, 25-23.

5th Set
SDSU went up with a matching-changing 8-1 run to start the fifth. The Crimson and Gold fought back, closing to within four at 11-7 after another ace from Wilkens. But the Jackrabbits took it home from there, closing it out 15-10 to advance to the semifinal round.

Up Next
The Pioneers (23-6, 14-4 SL) will return to the court in the fall of 2022.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES: Masks are required at all indoor athletic events. 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!

Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of Denver's NCAA Division I sports.
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Volleyball on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_Volleyball on Twitter
Follow @denverpioneers and @duvolleyball on Instagram