South Dakota Rallies Past Top-Seeded Denver for Summit League Tourney Crown

  0 volleymob | November 18th, 2018 | News

South Dakota def. Denver 3-2 (27-25, 24-26, 19-25, 25-21, 15-6)

  • South Dakota wins Summit League Tournament title, league’s NCAA automatic berth
  • South Dakota moves to
  • Denver, Colorado
  • Box Score

Courtesy: South Dakota Athletics

DENVER – South Dakota volleyball is going dancing.

The Coyotes earned an NCAA Tournament berth after a thrilling five-set victory over Denver in the Summit League tournament championship match on Sunday at Hamilton Gymnasium.

South Dakota snapped Denver’s Summit League tourney title win streak at four in a match that lasted two hours and 30 minutes, 27-25, 24-26, 19-25, 25-21, 15-6.

“I am so incredibly happy for this team right now,” Coach Leanne Williamson said. “The players fought so hard as a group and completely trusted each other.

“The team has been working for this moment since day one and we continued to learn throughout the year. Every experience led us to be prepared for today.”

Taylor Wilson, named tournament MVP, posted a career-high 24 kills with only one error for a .511 hitting percentage in the match, a back-and-forth contest that had a total of 20 ties and 12 lead changes.

“Taylor was incredible this weekend and absolutely a huge part of our success,” Williamson said. “She was as disciplined offensively as I have seen her all year.”

In a match with several momentum swings, South Dakota had the final one, taking the fourth set and then pushing ahead and controlling the fifth set.

Wilson, who had 13 kills and a .310 hitting percentage in the semifinal win over North Dakota State, finished the tournament with 37 kills and only five errors in 74 attack attempts.

“It’s a surreal feeling, I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” said Wilson. “When point 15 hit the scoreboard all I wanted to do was cry.”

Hayley Dotseth, named to the all-tournament team along with Wilson and setter Madison Jurgens, contributed 19 kills and 15 digs.

“They’re a great team, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” said Dotseth. “We had a really solid game plan coming in and we knew that if we controlled our side we would probably come out on top.”

Elizabeth Loschen also reached double figures in kills with 12 while senior Kristina Susak chipped in seven in a match that saw the Coyotes total 68 kills and a .230 hitting percentage in 191 attack attempts.

Jurgens had 50 assists and a career-high 20 digs in the win while also producing three of the Coyotes five service aces.

Anne Rasmussen had 19 digs, Mehana Fonseca 14 and Lolo Weideman 11 for a group that defensively had 94 total digs in the match.

“Hayley and Madison made big plays throughout the weekend to lead our team,” added Williamson. “All three of them deserve those honors (all-tourney) and I am excited that our season will continue.”

Up Next: Selections for the 2018 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship will be announced at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 25, on ESPNU. First- and Second-Round NCAA games will be played either Thursday/Friday (Nov. 29-30) or Friday/Saturday (Nov. 30-Dec. 1). The top-16 seeds of the 64-team field will host four-team pods during the opening weekend of the tournament.

Courtesy: Denver Athletics

DENVER – The University of Denver women’s volleyball team fell in five sets to South Dakota in the Summit League Tournament Final on Sunday afternoon inside Hamilton Gymnasium. Denver, the No. 1 seed, fell to the No. 2 seed by scores of 27-25, 24-26, 19-25, 25-21 and 15-6.

The Pioneers slipped to 27-2 on the year, and now sit at 4-2 overall in Summit League Championship matches. The Pioneers entered the weekend No. 43 in the NCAA RPI, and will await the 2018 NCAA Volleyball Championship Selection Show that is set for Sunday, Nov. 25 at 6:30 p.m. MT on ESPNU.

Senior Becca Latham earned a career-high 22 kills to lead the Denver offense. The 6-foot-2 outside hitter joined the 1,000 kills club on Sunday, now sitting at No. 7 all-time with 1,018 career kills in her time at Denver. “We are obviously disappointed with the loss today, but we congratulate South Dakota for the great game they played,” said head coach Tom Hogan. “It was a well fought match between two tenacious teams and a strong showing of the talent in our conference. But we know that our season is more than any one game, and we believe our 27-2 record and our multiple national statistical standings speak volumes. We belong in the NCAA tournament. The ball is in the committee’s hands, and we hope they respect and acknowledge the mid-majors as much as they do the other conferences.”

Pioneer Performers:
Following Latham’s lead, two other Pioneers posted double-digit kills against South Dakota. Senior Emma Willis tallied 16 and Tina Boe came up with 14. Latham, Willis and Boe accounted for 52 of Denver’s 73 total kills.

Boe was a key contributor in all categories, totaling one assist, one ace, six digs, six blocks and 18 total points in addition to her 14 kills.

Sophomores Ellie Anderson and Macy Carrabine proved themselves to be reliable as always. Anderson totaled 34 assists and Carrabine tallied 25 digs.

Freshman Graceyn Tippens continued to step up for the Pioneers, totaling six kills, one ace and seven digs.

Set Three Success:
The Crimson and Gold rallied back from an 8-1 deficit at the start of the third set, totaling 17 kills and a .302 hitting percentage. Once the Pioneers took the lead at 12-11, they didn’t give it up again. Denver wrapped up with a four-point scoring run to clinch the 25-19 victory.

Let’s Talk Numbers:
Denver totaled 71 kills in 206 total attempts, .214 hitting percentage, 61 assists, three aces, 85 digs, and a season-high 14.5 blocks. Despite South Dakota only earning 68 kills in 191 attempts, it still wasn’t enough for Denver to bring home their fifth-consecutive tournament championship.

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