MAYVILLE, N.D. (DSU) – Mayville State (N.D.) recorded 20 more kills (67-47) than Dakota State (S.D.) Wednesday evening, holding on to a 3-2 North Star Athletic Association women’s volleyball thriller at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse.  The Comets also hit .238 in the match (32 attack errors in 147 swings) compared to the Trojans .198 hitting efficiency (22 errors in 126 attempts).

Set scores were 25-19, 20-25, 25-19, 18-25, and 15-11.

Dakota State fell to 8-9 overall record and 1-3 record in the North Star Athletic Association contests.  Mayville State improved to 10-4 overall record and 2-1 league record.

The Trojans step aside their North Star conference play Tuesday, traveling to Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) with a junior varsity match at 5 p.m. and varsity match to follow at 7 p.m.  The matches will be held at the Christian Athletic Center on the campus of DWU in Mitchell, S.D.

Mayville State (N.D.) 3, Dakota State (S.D.) 2 – FINAL (25-19, 20-25, 25-19, 18-25, 15-11)

Mayville State never trailed in the opening set, thanks to their 20 kills in the first set to pave to a 1-0 match lead.  Leading 7-5, the Comets stretched their lead to 11-5 capped by Elora Passa’s kill. 

MSU hit .607 in the first set, committing three attack errors in 28 swings.  DSU recorded .217 hitting percentage with nine kills and four errors in 23 attempts.

Dakota State and Mayville State went through a see-saw battle through the first 32 rallies.  At 17-15, the Trojans went on a 4-0 scoring run, highlighted by a kill by Hailey Wathen for a 21-15 lead.

DSU evened the match at 1-1 after winning the second set by the score of 25-20.  The Comets were limited to minus .030 hitting percentage (10 kills with 11 errors in 33 attempts).  The Trojans hit .111 with nine kills and six errors in 27 attempts.

Sydney Schell smashed a kill (assisted by Maddi Langerock) to give Dakota State a 5-2 lead in the third set.  Mayville State then would answer with an 11-4 scoring run to overtake a 13-9 lead after a block by Madison McKinnon.

Trailing 17-14, the Trojans went on a 4-1 scoring run to knot the third set at 18-18 after a kill by Schell.  Mayville State then went on a 7-1 closing run to earn a 25-19 victory and regained a 2-1 match lead.

The Comets hit .357 in the third set (14 kills with 4 errors in 28 attempts) compared to the Trojans .207 hitting percentage (12 kills with 6 errors in 29 attempts).

Mayville State raced to a 5-1 lead in the fourth set.  Trailing 15-9, Dakota State went on a monstrous 11-1 outburst to lead 20-16.  The Trojans used four different hitters with a kill apiece during the scoring outburst – Schell, Hannah Evans, Madalyn Groff, and Brooklyn Grage.

The Trojans forced the fifth and deciding set after a block from H. Wathen and Macey Wathen to earn a 25-18 set four victory.  DSU hit .276 in the fourth set (12 kills with four errors in 29 attempts), while MSU was held to .083 hitting percentage (13 kills with 10 errors in 36 swings).

After trading leads or recorded ties in the early going of the fifth set, the Comets highlighted with a scoring run.  Leading 6-5, Mayville State went on a 5-0 scoring run to balloon their lead to 11-5 and forced the Trojans to burn their second timeout of the fifth set.

Dakota State could get no closer than three points at 14-11 after a kill by Groft.  DSU committed an attack error to end the match, securing the victory for MSU at 15-11.

Mayville State outhit Dakota State 10-5 in the fifth set.  The Comets hit .273 (4 errors in 22 attempts) compared to the Trojans .167 hitting percentage (2 errors in 18 swings).

Schell paced DSU’s offense attack with 13 kills and hit .273.  Grage added nine kills and four blocks.  Groft tallied 23 set assists, five digs, and four kills.  Evans recorded six kills and three blocks.  H. Wathen had five kills and two blocks. 

Kate VanRooyan led the Trojans’ defense with 22 digs.  Langerock contributed 17 assists and five digs.  Sophia Vanden Bosch had five digs.  H. Wathen, Hannah Thorsen, and Makenzie Coplan each had a service ace.

Passa led the Comets with 30 set assists and 19 kills.  McKinnon added 14 kills.  Samantha Passa recorded a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs.  Nicole Kortan had six kills.  Payton Richter produced 29 set assists and three service aces.

Natalie Hadrava led MSU’s defense with 27 digs. 

Dakota State collected nine blocks in the match compared to Mayville State three blocks.  The Comets collected six service aces, while the Trojans had three service aces.