Mayville, N.D. – The Mayville State Volleyball team defeated the Vikings in four sets Tuesday night to advance to the semifinal round of the NSAA Conference Tournament. The Comets will now play Viterbo at the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse on Tuesday, April 6th.
The Vikings started the game on a 7-3 run to give them an early lead. The Comets could only close the gap to two throughout most of the first set. VCSU went on another run in the middle part of the first set to jump out to a seven-point lead. The Comets were down 21-18 before MSU could close the gap to 23-22 but drop the first set by a final of 23-25.
Mayville State would start the second set on a 4-0 run, but the Vikings answered with the next two points. With the Comets up two, MSU would go on a 4-0 run to extend the lead to six. The Comets were up 21-14 in the second set when the Vikings went on a run to close the gap to one at 23-22. Valley City State would fight off multiple set points, but the Comets defeat the Vikings in set two by a final of 28-26.
Valley City State was up 8-4 in the third set before the Comets would go on a 5-1 run to tie the game at nine. The Comets were up three-points before a 5-0 run gave MSU a two-point lead at 15-13. MSU was trailing at 19-21 in the third set before a 6-2 run to close out a third set victory by a final of 25-23. The fourth set was tied at eight before a quick 4-1 run to jump up by three. Valley City would tie the game at 17 later in the set before an 8-3 run to close the fourth set and advance to the semifinal round of the conference tournament.
Mayville State finished the game with 57 kills, 22 attack errors, a .159 hitting percentage. The Comets also had 142 digs, 52 assists, eight blocks, and two aces. Victoria Johnson was one of three Comets in double figures in kills with 18 on the night, a .378 hitting percentage, and five blocking assists. Ashley Pyburn tallied 12 kills, one solo block, and two blocking assists.
Lily Pyle was the final Comet in double figures with 11 kills and two blocking assists. Elora Passa finished with five kills, 32 assists, 13 digs, and three blocking assists. Mason Hart recorded a season-high 51 digs in the back row and recorded one kill. Jordyn Lucas and Amy Seim finished with 20 digs and 18 digs respectively.
