West Palm Beach, Fla. – The Mayville State University Volleyball team goes 2-0 in day two of the Chick-fil-a Classic by defeating #20 Columbia College in four sets. Comets move to 3-1 on the season and will return home next Saturday for the home opener.
 
Game One:
The Quick Details:
Final Score: Mayville State 3, West Virginia Tech 0
Records: Mayville State 2-1, West Virginia Tech 0-1
 
How It Happened:
West Virginia Tech caught MSU early in the first set before the offense picked up the pace and went on a 5-0 run to take a one-point lead at 8-7. After MSU extend the lead to 16-11 in the first set, the Comets would not allow the Golden Bears to get any closer than three points and take the first set by a final of 25-21.
It was tight early in the second set as well as MSU and the WVT would be tied at seven. MSU would go on a run to give themselves some breathing room by going on a 6-2 run followed by a 3-0 run later in the set to jump out to a 6-point lead and win the second set by a final of 25-20.
Midway through the third set, MSU held a 4-point lead at 13-9 before the Golden Bears would go on a 7-2 run to take a one-point lead on the Comets. Later in the set, the Comets were down 17-20 before the Comets would go on a 7-1 run to take a 3-point lead and give MSU three match points.
After back-to-back points from West Virginia Tech, Kortan would put the finishing touches on the match to finish the sweep. The Comets finished the game hitting .208 on the match, with 51 kills, two service aces, six blocks, and 80 digs.
 
Individual Highlights:
Nicole Kortan: 10 kills, .227 hitting percentage, one block assist
Ashley Pyburn: 10 kills, .269 hitting percentage, four block assists
Rachel Hill: 23 assists
Natalie Hadrava: 20 digs
Payton Richter: 18 digs
 
Game Two:
The Quick Details:
Final Score: Mayville State 3, #20 Columbia 1
Records: Mayville State 3-1, #20 Columbia 0-2
 
How It Happened:
The Comets jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the first set and would extend the lead to 14-8 for the largest lead of the first set. Mayville State would not allow Columbia back into the set and would take the first one by a final score of 25-20.
Columbia's offense would click in the second set as the Cougars would go on a 9-0 run to jump out to a 5-14 lead and tie the match after a 15-25 set two victory. The Comets would bounce back in the third set as MSU would take a slim advantage at 14-11 in the third set before the Cougars would tie it up at 14 a few moments later.
Later in the set, MSU would be trailing by three at 17-20 before a 5-1 run would give the Comets a one-point lead in the late stages of the second set. Neither team could win in regulation, so we would play extra points with the Comets fighting off multiple set points from Columbia. The Comets would take the third set 30-28 from a Passa kill and an attacking error from CC.
The fourth set was just as exciting as the third, as the teams were deadlocked at 17 before MSU would take a three-point lead at 21-18. Columbia would score the next two points to make it a one-point game before Mayville State would score three unanswered to have four match points. The Cougars would score the next five points to have set point. A service error by CC tied the game at 25 and would head to extra scoring for the second consecutive set.
A timely block from Pyburn and Kortan would give MSU a match point, but CC would tie the game at 26. After a double contact from the Cougars gave MSU the sixth match point of the set, Kortan would finish the set and the match to give the Comets an upset over the #20 Cougars. The Comets finished the game with a .126 hitting percentage, with 58 kills, two service aces, 11 total blocks, and 112 digs.
 
Individual Highlights:
Elora Passa: 26 kills, .215 hitting percentage, 17 assists, 10 digs
Natalie Hadrava: 37 digs
Rachel Hill: 25 assists, 16 digs, 1 service ace
Nicole Kortan: 6 kills, 3 block assists
Ashley Pyburn: 7 block assists, 6 kills
Payton Richter: 17 digs
Emily Condon: 15 digs