The Basics
Score: No. 6 South Dakota State 3, No. 3 Denver 2
Records: South Dakota State (19-11, 10-8 SL), Denver (23-6, 14-4 SL)
Location: The Sanford Coyote Sports Center– Vermillion, S.D.

VERMILLION, S.D. – In thrilling fashion, No. 6 South Dakota State downed No. 3 Denver (19-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-23, 15-10) in five sets during the second quarterfinal match of the 2021 Summit League Volleyball Championship. The Jackrabbits will be making their first appearance in the semifinals since 2010.
 
Who Stood Out
South Dakota State had two record double-doubles to help claim the victory over Denver. Chloe Stitt paved the way finishing with 12 kills and 12 digs. All-League First Teamer Crystal Burk tallied 11 kills on .211 hitting to go along with 16 digs.
 
All-Freshman honoree Ella Thompson notched nine kills with 2 errors on 15 attempts for a team-best .467 hitting percentage. Defensively for the Jacks, Tatum Pickar recorded a team-best 17 digs while Carly Wedel finished with 12 of her own.
 
Denver was led by Freshman of the Year Hailey Green’s career-high 23 kills. Lydia Bartalo finished with 11 kills of her own to go along with a match-best 23 digs. All-League First Team member Tina Boe rounded out the Pioneer trio in double figures as she finished with 13 kills.
 
Gianna Bartalo finished with 15 digs for the Pioneers while Ellie Anderson and Lorrin Poulter each contributed 10 of their own.
 
Turning Point
The battle began right from the first serve. Denver took an early 1-0 lead after claiming the first set 25-19. South Dakota State brought the heat in the second to gut out a tight 25-23 victory in response. The Pioneers were able to tough out the third set 25-21 victory, while the Jackrabbits took the fourth (25-23).
 
The fifth set started with a solo block from Burk followed by another block from Sydney Andrews and Hailee Blau to push the Jackrabbits up to a 2-0 lead right out of the gate. South Dakota State would continue on that momentum after two Pioneer errors en route to an 8-1 run forcing Denver into a timeout.
 
Out of the timeout and some traded points, the closest the Pioneers would come to the Jacks was within four points after an error by SDSU pushed the score 13-9. A kill from Burk followed by a kill from Boe would push the score 14-10 but Burk hammered down a kill for the 15^th point of the set to claim the victory.
 
Notable

• The last time a No. 6 seed beat a No. 3 seed was in 2018 when sixth-seed North Dakota State defeated third-seeded Omaha in four sets.
• It will be the Jackrabbits' first semifinal appearance since 2010.
• South Dakota State won the championship title the first year the Jacks joined the league in 2007.
• This is the first time that Denver hasn’t advanced to the championship match since joining the league in 2013.
• South Dakota State out-blocked Denver 16 blocks to 8 blocks
• The match included 24 tie scores and nine lead changes. Set three saw 14 of the 24 tie scores and seven of the nine lead changes.
• Denver swept the series with South Dakota State taking both matches in three sets.

 
Up Next
South Dakota State enters the semifinals against No. 2 South Dakota Friday at 7 p.m. CT.