MAYVILLE, N.D. – The Mayville State volleyball team battled through a pair of tough Frontier Conference matches over the weekend, dropping a 3-0 decision to Montana Tech on Friday before falling 3-2 to Montana Western on Saturday at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse.
The Comets showed flashes of strong play throughout both matches, including a hard-fought five-set battle against Montana Western that saw Mayville State force a deciding fifth set.
Against Montana Tech, the Comets opened the match with a competitive 26-24 first-set loss before Montana Tech took the second set 25-18. Mayville State continued to fight in the third set, but the Orediggers closed out the match with a 25-22 victory.
Haley Johnson led the Comets with eight kills, while Andrea Majchrzak added seven kills and four blocks. Cadynce Dewitz finished with six kills. Danica Hanson recorded 13 assists, while Zenna Krull added 10 assists and three service aces. Tori Richter paced the defense with nine digs.
The Comets bounced back Saturday against Montana Western, pushing the Bulldogs to five sets in a back-and-forth contest.
Montana Western took the opening set 25-17, but Mayville State responded by taking the second set 26-24. The Bulldogs regained momentum with a 25-13 win in the third, only for the Comets to answer emphatically in the fourth set, winning 25-13 and forcing a decisive fifth set. Montana Western ultimately claimed the final set 15-9 to secure the 3-2 victory.
Cadynce Dewitz led the Comets with nine kills, followed by Andrea Majchrzak with eight and Lexi Hoeft with seven. Majchrzak also added three blocks.
Danica Hanson recorded 17 assists, while Zenna Krull added 11. Tori Richter turned in a strong defensive performance with 21 digs, while Ada Pearson added 15 and Alivia Peterson finished with 13.
Mayville State's strongest stretch came in the fourth set. The Comets limited Montana Western to a .104 hitting percentage while hitting .300 themselves, recording 13 kills with just one attack error to force the fifth set.
The two matches continue a challenging early-season schedule for the Comets, who opened Frontier Conference play against Valley City State before facing (RV) Montana Tech and Montana Western.
Mayville State will now prepare for a road trip to Montana next weekend, where the Comets will face No. 7 University of Providence on Friday, Sept. 11, followed by Montana State University-Northern on Saturday, Sept. 12.
