Denver Stays Hot, Sweeps Omaha to Advance to Championship

Friday, April 2

Sioux Falls, S.D. (The Sanford Pentagon)

1:30 PM MT

University of Denver

14-2,14-2Summit League

Omaha

13-6,12-5Summit League

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Omaha	25	20	20	0
Denver	27	25	25	3

Denver Stays Hot, Sweeps Omaha to Advance to Championship

4/2/2021 3:49:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Summit League Championship Page

Bartalo records double-double in victory

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Denver Pioneers volleyball team continued its dominant play, picking up its fifth straight victory on Friday, sweeping No. 4 seed Omaha 3-0 in the semifinal of the Summit League Championship presented by US Air Force Special Warfare.

Turning Point
DU using a late run in the second set to take the set 25-20 and pick up a 2-0 lead on the Mavericks.

1st Set
Denver got the start it was looking for, racing out to a 12-8 start after a kill from Lydia Bartalo forced Omaha to take a timeout to regroup. The Mavericks ripped off a quick 4-0 run to tie things at 12-12 before a kill from Bartalo snapped the run. Both teams traded runs before things ended tied 25-25. Denver dialed up the pressure, scoring two straight to jump and take the first set, 27-25.

2nd Set
The Pioneers opened strong again, taking an 8-5 advantage. Denver pushed it to a 22-17 advantage late after cooling down late on the attack. The Crimson and Gold pushed away though late, taking set two on a kill from Katarina Marinkovic, her seventh of the contest.

3rd Set
It was all Denver in the third, giving Omaha no opportunities with stout defense to take a 25-20 set win, securing the victory. The Pioneers limited the Mavericks to just a .093 hitting percentage while racking up 14 kills on a .209 hitting percentage of their own. DU continued its stellar service play, a trend all season, in the set, picking up two service aces.

Inside the Box Score
- Bartalo led the way for Denver with a match-high 10 kills and 12 digs, her third double-double this season.
- Lorrin Poulter continued her strong play, finishing with nine kills and 15 assists.
- Marinkovic added eight kills to go along with teammate Tina Boe.

Significant Stats
- The Pioneers have now won 15 straight sets against the opposition.
- DU's 58 digs tied for the second most this year.
- Denver has now advanced to the Summit League Championship in every year since it joined the league back in 2013.

Up Next
The Pioneers will play the winner of the South Dakota/Kansas City contest in the championship tomorrow at 1 PM 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