Who: Denver (9-1) vs. South Dakota (10-4, 9-1)
What: Games 11 & 12 
Where: Hamilton Gymnasium
When: March 12 (6 p.m. MT) | March 13 (4 p.m. MT) 
How to Watch: Stream
Last Time Out
The Pioneers swept North Dakota (3-0, 3-0) to mark their seventh & eighth straight wins. Lydia Bartalo led Denver offensively with 22 kills and a .329 hitting percentage, while Brianna Green carried the load defensively with 11 total blocks on three solos and eight assists.

Series History
Denver is 12-6 all-time vs. South Dakota but have dropped the last three matches to the Coyotes. Last season, South Dakota defeated the Pioneers 3-2 on Oct. 6 in Denver and 3-1 on Nov. 3 in Vermillion, S.D.

Last Meeting
The Coyotes snapped Denver's seven-match winning streak with a 3-1 win (21-25, 30-28, 25-15, 25-16) on their home court in November 2019. After dropping the first set, South Dakota battled from facing set-point to win the second set 30-28. The Coyotes used early leads in the last two sets to close the match.  

Milestones

• Ellie Anderson recorded her 2,000^th career assist on Sunday, Feb. 28 vs. Oral Roberts. With 2,064 career assists, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa native is 12 assists shy of tying Bailey Karst (2,076 | 2012-'14) for 10^th-most in program history and 5^th-most in the Division I era
• Macy Carrabine logged her 1,000^th career dig on Feb. 22 vs. Western Illinois. She ranks 6^th in career digs (1,041) and 3^rd in digs/set (3.46) for Denver's Division I era
• Tom Hogan won his 100^th career match as head coach on Sunday, Feb. 21 vs. Western Illinois. He enters this weekend with a 105-28 all-time record
• Tina Boe ranks 5^th in the Pioneers' Division I era for career total blocks (355) and block assists (327)

Quick Points

• The Pioneers are tied for 1^st in conference winning percentage with Kansas City and South Dakota (.900)
• The Crimson & Gold ranks 7^th in the NCAA in aces/set (2.15), 15^th in blocks/set (2.79), 27^th in hitting percentage (.267), 42^nd in assists/set (12.74)
  • The Pioneers lead the Summit League in five of 12 major statistical categories, more than any other Summit League team: hitting percentage (.268), assists/set (12.76), blocks/set (2.79), aces/set (2.15) and opponent digs/set (13.32)
• Lydia Bartalo ranks 13^th in the NCAA in aces/set (.62) and leads the Summit League. Ellie Anderson ranks 51^st in the NCAA (.47) and 3^rd in the conference. Macy Carrabine ranks 5^th in the Summit League (.38)
• Brianna Green ranks 40^th in the NCAA and 2^nd in the Summit League for blocks/set (1.29). Tina Boe ranks 3^rd in the conference (1.18)
• Brianna Green's hitting percentage ranks 3^rd in the Summit League (.355)
• Lorrin Poulter has played three matches with 10 or more kills. Brianna Green and Tina Boe have played three matches with five or more blocks. Ellie Anderson has played three matches with 25 or more assists. Macy Carrabine has played three matches with 15+ digs
• The Pioneers have played the fewest number of sets in the conference (34)
• This weekend marks Denver's first Friday/Saturday series at Hamilton Gymnasium since Sept. 20-21 vs. Santa Clara & Montana (538 days)
• Entering the 2020 season, the Pioneers had the 18^th-highest winning percentage among all Division I programs in the last five seasons (.778) and the 20^th-most wins (123)
• 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 received two first-place votes. Lydia Bartalo & Tina Boe were named Players to Watch 
• Tom Hogan enters his fifth season at the helm with a 105-28 overall record (62-9 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 92-13 in Hamilton Gymnasium since 2012

UP NEXT: Denver will wrap up its two-match series vs. South Dakota on Saturday, March 13 at 4 p.m. MT.
 
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!
 
-5280 TOGETHER-
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Volleyball on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_Volleyball on Twitter
Follow @denverpioneers and @duvolleyball on Instagram