DENVER — South Dakota senior Audrey Reeg tallied a match-high 15 kills, but Denver had 17.5 total blocks as the Pioneers beat the Coyotes 25-12, 25-14, 22-25, 25-18 in the Summit League Championship match at Hamilton Gymnasium.  Reeg and sophomore libero Lauren Mattison were named to the all-tournament team.
 
Denver (23-7) won the Summit League Tournament title for the third year in a row and gets the Summit League's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. South Dakota (25-7) had its most successful year since joining the Summit League in 2011. The Coyotes won their first Summit League regular season title and advanced to their first championship match.
 
"We obviously didn't come out and play our best volleyball today," said South Dakota head volleyball coach Leanne Williamson. "Denver played extremely well, and I was very happy with how the team fought back in the third set.
 
"Our season is not defined by this match. We made history for our program by winning the regular season conference title and making it to the tournament championship match. We will use that going forward. What I am most proud of for this team is how they went through this season. They worked extremely hard and did it with class. I've been saying it all year, this team is special and they will continue to be."   
 
After Reeg's 15 kills, sophomore Hayley Dotseth had 13 kills and freshman Elizabeth Loschen added 10 more. Reeg tallied 14 digs for her second double-double of the tournament.
 
Junior setter Brittany Jessen recorded 39 assists and Mattison had five. Jessen tallied 11 digs for a double-double. Defensively, Mattison led the Yotes with 21 digs. Dotseth and redshirt junior Meagan Kerns both had two total blocks.
 
Denver had leads of 8-1 and 8-3 in sets one and two, respectively. The Coyotes made runs of their own in both sets, but the Pioneers were able to hold them off. Denver won the first set 25-12, the second 25-14 and had a 2-0 match lead at the break.
 
South Dakota jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the third set. Reeg swatted down back-to-back kills to start the set. Loschen and Dotseth each tallied a kill as South Dakota scored the first four points of the set. After a Denver kill, Reeg combined with Kerns for a block and then Dotseth added two more kills for the 7-1 lead. Denver fought back and tied the set at 21. With the set tied at 22, Kerns and Reeg connected on kills and Jessen served an ace to give the Coyotes a 25-22.   
 
The third set started just like the first two as Denver had a quick lead at 6-1. Later in the set, South Dakota answered with a run of its own and was able to make it a one point game, 14-13, after a Loschen kill. That was the closest the Coyotes would get as Denver went onto win the fourth set 25-18 and the match 3-1.
 
2016 Summit League All-Tournament Team
Nola Basey, Denver
Gabby Fisher, IUPUI
Lauren Mattison, South Dakota
Laura Miilos, Oral Roberts
Emily Minnick, North Dakota State
Ruth Okoye, Denver (MVP)
Audrey Reeg, South Dakota
Cassidy Rooke, Denver
Natalie Sieler, Fort Wayne