Mayville, ND - The Comets Volleyball team hosted the #5 Viterbo V-Hawks in a North Star Conference matchup on Friday night. Mayville State fought to the very end, but Viterbo managed to escape the Lewy Lee with a five set victory.

Head coach Katie Aasen said, "We played well in all areas and every front row player contributed both offensively and on the block. Everyone played good smart volleyball, and we are so fortunate to have such a reliable defense."

Viterbo started fast with a 4-1 lead. The Comets stormed back with a 9-2 streak of their own behind Thyra Peterick's two blocks and a kill. The V-Hawks chipped away at the lead and eventually tied the game at 14. Viterbo got their offense rolling and slowly pulled away from the Comets, eventually winning set 1 25-20.

Set two began in a similar fashion, as the V-Hawks sprinted out to a 9-5 lead. Once again Mayville State used their defense to generate offense, as Peterick and Elora Passa teamed up for multiple blocks and raced past Viterbo with a 9-1 run. However, the Comets prevented Viterbo from regaining momentum, and two crucial kills by Calyn Crockett gave Mayville State the set 2 win 26-24.

Madison McKinnon was the catalyst in set 3, as two early kills and a block allowed the Comets to open with an 8-2 advantage. As in set 2, Mayville State did not allow the V-Hawks to get into any sort of offensive flow, and managed to take the set with a relatively comfortable 25-20 margin.

Set four was all V-Hawks, as they steadily opened up a big lead and were ready to cruise to a fifth set after going up 23-14. The Comets fought back with five straight points and got to within 24-21 before Viterbo closed out the set 25-21.

In the final set, Viterbo's offense fired on all cylinders early and turned a 3-3 tie into an 8-4 lead. With the score 10-6, Mayville State roared back into the game with five straight points to take an 11-10 advantage. The set then was knotted at 11-11, 12-12, 13-13, 14-14 and 15-15, before Viterbo got the two final points to close out the Comets 17-15.

Aasen also stated," They've done a great job at executing the game plan so we use that to our advantage."

Elora Passa and McKinnon piled up 15 kills each to lead the offense, as Crockett also reached double figures with 10. Elora Passa also added 33 assists, and Payton Richter contributed 25. Natalie Hadrava had a big game with 37 digs and Peterick blocked eight V-Hawk attacks.

"The sacrifices this team makes to keep the ball in the air and the overall team unity allows us to consistently compete at the high level that we do. It's safe to say we aren't just "competing" with great teams, we are one of those great teams," commented Aasen.

The loss drops the Comets record to 14-8 and 5-3 in the NSAA.