MOORHEAD, MINN. – A month ago, the Mayville State University Comets handily defeated the Concordia College Cobbers 3-0 in a non-conference matchup at Mayville's Lewy Lee Fieldhouse. The Comets knew, coming into Tuesday's matchup in Moorhead, that the Cobber team they would see would be much different than the early-season Cobber team. And, the team's intuition was right—the Cobbers fought tooth and nail, but, in the end, Cobber errors were too much to overcome, as Mayville State fought to a 3-0 sweep of the Cobbers at the Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn.
"It's always good to get a win on the road," head coach Lindsey Johnson said.
A slow start in the first set for Mayville State saw the Cobbers take an early 5-2 lead.
But, when Mayville State got going, they took off.
Tied 14-14, Mayville State began distancing themselves, but only being able to gain a five-point lead, at most. The five-point lead was built by attack errors by Concordia's Anna Brakke and kills by Mayville State's Elora Passa and Victoria Johnson, both on passes by Hannah Bliss.
Johnson, who had another breakout night, took a pass from Passa, and found a hole in the Concordia defense to take set one 25-22.
Set two was all Mayville State early, with the Comets jumping out to a quick 4-1 lead by back-to-back-to-back errors by the Cobbers and a kill by Passa. The teams then traded points, but Mayville State took a commanding 12-7 lead on a kill by Johnson, preceded by a kill by Ashley Pyburn.
The Comets would, however, let Concordia sneak back into the set, when the Cobbers pulled to within three points on an attack error by Kiana Johnson, which followed a monstrous kill by Brakke, who controlled much of Concordia's offensive threat throughout the night.
"She (Kiana) just keeps getting better," coach Johnson said. "It's been fun to see her growth these past few weeks."
Jill Klaphake brought the Cobbers to within 24-19, but a kill by Victoria Johnson sent the Cobbers to a pivotal set three, trailing 2-0 in the match.
Set three was marred by errors. A total of 21 errors were committed between the two teams in the third set. Mayville State took advantage, building a six-point lead midway through the set on a kill by Victoria Johnson on a pass from freshman Amy Seim.
Jayden Warner brought the Comets to a 20-17 lead late, but Concordia continued to battle, falling in the final set 25-21.
Victoria Johnson led the Comets with 12 kills, while Bliss finished with nine. Passa paced the Comets with 26 assists; and Warner finished with 35 digs.
Mayville State will travel to Bellevue, Neb., on Friday to take on the Bellevue Bruins, and to Madison, S.D., on Saturday to take on the Dakota State Trojans.