Box Score
GREAT FALLS, MT – The Mayville State Comet Volleyball team headed out west to Great Falls, Mont. to begin a 3-day stretch of matches at the Best Western Plus Heritage Inn Fall Classic.  The event was being held at the University of Providence, with the Comets taking on the host team, the UP Argos on the first day of the event. 

The Argos were the NAIA  #15 team in the country coming into the contest with a 7-1 record, while the Comets came in at 4-4 overall. Both teams had a battle on their hands as they swapped sets and pushed it to the limit into the fifth set, with the Comets coming away with a big win in the end. 

In the first set, the action was a series of back-and-forth scores with some ties on the way to nine apiece. The Argos found a big groove and hit a 6-0 run to quickly jump up 15-9. The Comets would get within four but were kept away with some strong attacks and a nice 4-0 run from the Argos to take the first set from the Comets in a 25-16 score.  

The Comets came back in the second set and had a very closely fought contest in this one. It wasn't a match of runs, it was a match of ties and tussles until the end, with no team having a lead greater than three in this set.  The battle edged its way to multiple ties on the way up to 19, with the Comets finishing it off on a strong run to take the victory and even things out.

The third set had about the same feel as the first one in the opening moments, each team working its way to a 7-7 tie until the Argos broke things open with an 11-4 run over the Comets.  It was enough of a stretch to keep the Comets away for a while, with UP taking the third set with a 25-17 score.

With the fourth set of the night, the Comets really had to buckle down and come after the Argos with a come-from-behind effort.  Things tilted in their favor and a victory in the set looked like it was possibly going to whittle away on them.  When the score reached 24-19, UP went on a 3-0 streak to make things interesting, but the Comets came away after a nice kill by Cassidy Miller to push it to Set #5.

The fifth set had some moments of drama as it unfolded.  The Argos were looking to take control at first with a 5-2 stretch right away, but things changed quickly after the Comets hit a 5-0 run to take the lead.  It was literally a back-and-forth battle as the sides would trade points until it was tied up at 12 all. Then an error from the Argos and a kill from the Jana Mehus gave the Comets a quick 2-point cushion. Providence was able to respond with a point of their own to make things 14-13, but great defense and another error from the Argos gave the Comets a 15-13 win to take the match in the 3-2 affair.

Kiana Johnson led the Comets in kills on the night with 12, Victoria Johnson followed that up with 10 of her own, and Natalie Hadrava added 10. Jayden Warner led all players in digs with 32. 

This was a huge lift for the Comets to get a victory over a top 15 team in the NAIA.  As head coach Lindsey Johnson put it simply: "This was a great win for our program, the girls came out and competed hard. It was definitely a fun one to get!"

The Comets record shifts upward to 5 wins and 4 losses on the season thus far. Friday's action at the Fall Classic will be at noon versus the University of Montana-Western, and a 4 p.m. date with  Lewis-Clark State College. Saturday will be the final day of the trip, going up against Montana Tech at 9 a.m., and Montana State-Northern at 1 p.m.