Denver’s Kayla Principato and Ruth Okoye combined for 27 kills and the Pioneers (26-6) outlasted the South Dakota Coyotes (15-16) 25-13, 25-14, 19-25, 25-21 in the semifinal round of the Summit League Tournament Saturday in Hamilton Gymnasium.
“This is obviously not the way we wanted our season to end,” said South Dakota head coach Leanne Williamson. “We did not play well in sets one or two, but I was proud of the way the team came out and fought in sets three and four.
“We were faced with a lot of adversity this year and our team continued to push every day to improve. We are happy to have made it to this point, but losing in the semifinals is something that will drive us going into next season.
“The four seniors have done a lot for our team and will leave a lasting impact on our program.”
Principato led the Pioneers with 14 kills and Okoye added 13 more. Sarah Schmid also had double-digit kills with 10.
Denver’s Monique Domme led the offense with 26 assists. Piyusha Boteju added 22 more and had 10 digs as she recorded a double-double.
Three other Pioneers had double-digit digs. Cassidy Rooke had 18. Nola Basey and Cassie Baird each had 11.
Junior Audrey Reeg led the Coyotes with 18 kills and 17 digs for her 17th double-double of the season.
Junior Lindsey Brown and freshman Hayley Dotseth had 11 and 10 kills, respectively.
Sophomore setter Brittany Jessen recorded a match-high 45 assists and added eight digs and four kills.
Freshman libero Lauren Mattison had 16 digs.
In the first set, the Pioneers jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Schmid and Principato combined for a block and each swatted down a kill during the run. Denver stretched its lead throughout the set and won 25-13. Denver carried that momentum into the second set and won 25-14 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Coyotes fought back in the third set. With Denver leading 16-12, South Dakota went on a 13-3 run. During the run, Reeg recorded five straight kills all coming from Jessen. Biltoft swatted down the final kill and the Coyotes claimed set three 25-19.
Denver led South Dakota 2-1 heading into the fourth set. The Coyotes scored five straight points and had a 13-9 lead, but the Pioneers came back and tied the set at 16. Denver scored the next five points to take a 21-16 lead and eventually won the set 25-21.
The Coyotes’ season ends in the semifinals of the Summit League Tournament for the third straight year. The team has won at least 15 matches the past three years.
