Jacks fall in 3 sets

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DENVER – The South Dakota State volleyball team lost in three sets at Denver Sunday in a Summit League match.

The Jackrabbits (3-12, 0-2) lost 25-22, 25-18 and 25-15 to the Pioneers (13-1, 2-0).

Makenzie Hennen led the Jacks with eight kills. Ashlynn Smith added seven kills and six digs. Ellie Thein had nine digs.

Denver’s Lydia Bartalo had a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs while Becca Latham had a match-high 13 kills.

“We continue to compete well but Denver is a good team that we eventually couldn’t keep up with,” fourth-year head coach Nicole Cirillo said.

How it Happened: In the opening set, the Jackrabbits took a 9-6 lead on Hennen’s first kill of the match. SDSU continued its run to push the lead to 12-8.

The Jacks took a 13-10 lead on Sydney Andrews’ service ace but Denver answered with a 9-2 run to take a 19-15 lead. The Pioneers led 22-18 before the Jacks picked up a pair of points to pull within two, 22-20.

Denver later closed the set with a kill.

South Dakota State had a 10-8 lead in the second set after Payton Richardson picked up a kill.

Denver then ran off six-straight points to take a 14-10 lead. The Jackrabbits got within four at 20-16 on a Smith kill and a pair of Pioneer errors.

DU ended the set on a 5-2 run.

The Jackrabbits fell behind 11-2 in the final set.

A 4-0 run late in the set, fueled by Maddie Fay’s two service aces and Crystal Burk’s kill, pulled State to within eight points, 19-11.

Denver outscored the Jacks 6-4 to win the match.

Up Next: South Dakota State returns to the court Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. at North Dakota State.

Photo from www.gojacks.com.