DENVER, Colorado – South Dakota volleyball could not sustain momentum throughout the entire Summit League match on Saturday inside Hamilton Gymnasium during a five-set loss to Denver, 12-25, 20-25, 25-13, 25-17, 15-10.
 
The Coyotes, coming off a big five-set road win on Thursday at Omaha, came out strong, taking the first two sets thanks to a combination of strong play and taking advantage of Denver's miscues.
 
South Dakota had 12 kills and only two errors in hitting .455 in set one and added eight kills on only four errors for a set two victory. In contrast, Denver had 21 kills and 19 errors through two sets.
 
Denver, moving to 10-1 at home this season, posted 35 kills against only 11 errors in winning the final three sets and snapping a five-match losing skid to the Coyotes. Conversely, South Dakota's offense went cold registering 23 kills and 20 errors in the final three sets.
 
The Pioneers, with 56 kills on 152 swings, placed three players in double figures in kills, led by Ari Winters with 13 while Lydia Bartalo and Brianna Green had 11 apiece.
 
South Dakota, meanwhile, had only 43 kills on 129 swings, getting 10 kills from Elizabeth Juhnke and nine apiece from Aimee Adams and Sami Slaughter. Slaughter hit .308 while Madison Harms hit .467 with eight kills and only one error.
 
Madison Jurgens contributed 31 assist, nine digs and three service aces and in the match moved even with Brittany Jessen for fifth on the school's all-time charts for aces with 137.
 
Lolo Weideman had 12 digs, Jurgens nine, Juhnke and Brooklyn Bollweg eight each.
 
South Dakota is now 10-8 overall and 7-2 in Summit League play at the end of the first rotation. The Coyotes will face South Dakota State in the second meeting of the South Dakota Showdown Series on Friday in Brookings.