DENVER—Kayla Principato and Becca Latham combined for 22 kills as the Pioneers (16-4, 4-1 SL) beat the Coyotes (6-11, 0-4 SL) 25-13, 25-13, 19-25, 25-20 Sunday in Hamilton Gymnasium.

Principato had 12 kills for the Pioneers and Latham added 10 more. Setter Piyusha Boteju recorded a double-double with 17 assists and 10 digs.

Junior Audrey Reeg and sophomore setter Brittany Jessen each had a double-double for the Coyotes. Reeg led South Dakota with 11 kills and had 18 digs while Jessen had a match-high 32 assists and 13 digs.

Denver came out strong and won both the first and second sets 25-13. The Coyotes bounced back in a competitive third set which had 11 ties. With the score tied at 13, freshman Hayley Dotseth swatted down two kills to lead the Coyotes on a 7-0 run.
Reeg and Jessen added one kill apiece as South Dakota went on to win the third set 25-19.

In the fourth set, it was the Pioneers who prevailed as attack errors had the Coyotes down 15-10. The Coyotes would keep the set close but fell short 25-20 as Denver won the match 3-1.

The Coyotes are back in action next weekend as Oral Roberts comes to town. The game is at noon on Sunday in the Coyote Den.