MAYVILLE, ND – The Dickinson State University Blue Hawks made the trip east to take on NSAA and in-state rival Mayville State on Saturday afternoon. The Comets won Saturday's match in straight sets, keeping themselves in the top four of the NSAA tournament field, heading into the final game of the season this upcoming week.
 
"Getting a conference win is always a big deal and for us today it was even bigger," Comet head coach Lindsey Johnson said.
 
The two teams played back-and-forth in the early portions of the first set, but then the Comets began to pull ahead. A kill by Victoria Johnson led a 4-0 surge by the Comets, which put them ahead 14-10. But, the Blue Hawks battled back.
 
Down 16-12, Dickinson State rallied off back-to-back-to-back points, including kills by Keera Stookey and Cassie North, bringing the game to within one point, 16-15.
 
The two teams continued to battle back-and-forth, but two more kills by Johnson and an attack error by Alyssa Wisher put the Comets in the lead, for good, 23-20.
 
Wisher narrowed the gap to one point late, but the Comets were able to counter that with two more points, taking the opening set 25-21.
 
The second set was all Dickinson State early. Down 5-4, the Blue Hawks rallied off five straight points. Four of the five points were on attack errors by Mayville State, while the fifth was a service error by Abby Moerkerke.
 
It would take time, but eventually Mayville State evened the set—at 11-11. But then, the Blue Hawks continued to pour on the pressure, taking a 16-13 lead. That's when Mayville State took over and went on a 8-3 run, paced by attack errors by the Blue Hawks and a couple of timely kills by Mayville State's hard hitters, Ashley Pyburn, Elora Passa and Hannah Bliss.
 
With the Comets on the verge of taking set two, ahead 24-22, Baylie Dashner took a pass from Stookey and found the floor, sending the set to extra points. On the next serve, Victoria Johnson committed an attack error, tying the match at 24-24. With the momentum shifting, Dickinson State's Kennedy Hildebrand picked up a pass from Stookey and found a spot on the Comets' side of the floor, pushing set two to set point, in favor of Dickinson State.
 
The two teams continued battling back-and-forth, until Dickinson State tied the match 28-28.
 
On the next serve, momentum swung back Mayville State's way, on Dashner's attack error, making it 29-28, Mayville State. Dashner committed another attack error to send the Blue Hawks down in set two, 30-28.
 
"It was a really emotional day for our team, and I was really proud of they competed," Johnson said. "We had to fight off three set points in set two, and I was proud of the way we responded."
 
The final set also started out evenly, but a 7-0 run by Mayville State put the Comets ahead 15-10. Four attack errors led the pace on the 7-0 run for the Comets. Mayville State never looked back, taking set three 25-20.
 
Bliss led the Comets with 18 kills. Passa had 37 assists for the Comets, and two Comets had double-digit digs—Jayden Warner, 25; and Amy Seim, 13.
 
The Comets will wrap up the regular season this Wednesday at home against the Presentation College Saints.