DENVER, Colo. – South Dakota (13-9, 7-4 Summit) fell to Denver in five sets inside the Hamilton Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. Denver snapped a three-match win streak for the Yotes. Game scores went 25-27, 25-13, 18-25, 28-26, 17-15.
 
Who Stood Out
Freshman outside hitter Samantha Laird tallied a team-high 11 kills for the Yotes, two kills shy of her career high. Madison Harms and Kylen Sealock each added 10 kills apiece and Harms put up seven blocks. Libero Kamryn Farris had 18 digs from the back court.
 
Denver (10-10, 9-3 Summit) had five hitters notch kills and all five hitters tallied double-digit numbers. Cadi Boyer led the way with a match-high 16 kills on a .448 hitting clip out of the middle. Boyer added 10 blocks, including two solo blocks. Cassie Davis followed with 12 kills and eight digs from the outside. Libero Gianna Bartolo tied Farris' match-high digs with 18 of her own.

Turning Point
The first four sets proved to be back-and-forth battles full of runs for either team that would foreshadow the deciding set. South Dakota came out to a big 7-3 lead early in set five to force a Denver timeout. The Yotes scored again out of the timeout to enact the side switch and take an 8-3 lead. Davis put down her 10^th kill of the match and spurred a 6-0 run for the Pioneers to give them a 9-8 lead over the Yotes. That proved to be the momentum shift that Denver needed. South Dakota survived three Denver match points before Boyer and Decker put up the block to seal the five-set win.  
 
Notable

• Brynn Paumen had eight kills with just two error to hit .333 on the match.
• Freshman setter Avery Van Hook put up 23 assists and 13 digs to record her 10^th double-double of the season. Van Hook also tallied four kills on eight attempts to hit .500 while adding one block.
• Farris and Van Hook each had two service aces
• Sealock added four blocks and six digs to her 10 kills.

 
 
Up Next
South Dakota heads to St. Thomas to face the Tommies for the second time this season on Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. The Yotes return home to host North Dakota on Nov. 4 at 2 p.m.