October 3, 2014
MAYVILLE, N.D. – Dakota State shook off their 2-0 deficit and rallied back to defeat Mayville State (N.D.) in five sets in North Star Athletic Association Volleyball conference thriller at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse Friday evening. After hitting well below .100 in the first two sets, the Trojans hit impressive .333 or higher in the final three sets for a 19-25, 20-25, 25-21, 26-24 and 15-11 NSAA victory over the Comets.
Dakota State snapped their two-match losing streak, lifting their overall record to 14-8 and 3-1 NSAA record. The Trojans gained a sole possession for second-place in the NSAA conference standings. Mayville State, which is currently in a seven-match home stand, suffered their first home loss of the season. The Comets are 10-9 overall record and 2-2 NSAA conference record.
With the Trojans leading 17-14 in the opening set, the Comets used a strong finish with an 11-2 scoring run to earn a 25-19 victory. DSU outhit MSU 14-10 in the first set, but the Trojans committed 10 attack errors in 43 attempts (.093 hitting efficiency) compared to the Comets' 4 attack errors in 35 attempts (.171 hitting percentage).
Mayville State was able to use another strong finish in the second set. Tied at 20-20, the Comets scored five straight points to seal a 25-20 victory, extending MSU's lead to 2-0. Mayville State had 15 kills in the second set (.186 hitting efficiency – 7 errors in 43 attempts) compared to Dakota State 11 kills (.043 hitting percentage – 9 errors in 46 attempts).
Leading 22-21 in the third set, Dakota State scored the final three points of the set to extend the match with a 25-22 victory. The Trojans sealed off three straight points by a kill from Brittney Anderson, a service ace by Kaylee Vander Wal and a kill by Carly Rozell.
Dakota State collected 17 kills in the third set compared to the Comets' 16 kills. The Trojans hit .368 (3 errors in 38 attempts), while MSU hit .343 (4 errors in 35 attempts).
The Comets and Trojans battled through the fourth set with nine ties and thee lead changes. At 24-24, a service error by Gretchen Freed coupled with DSU's Kylie Martin kill gave Dakota State a 26-24 victory to force a fifth and deciding set.
DSU smashed 18 kills in the third set and hit .333 (3 errors in 45 attempts). MSU earned 15 kills and hit .279 (3 errors in 43 attempts).
Tied 4-4 in the deciding set, the Trojans scored four straight points to grab an 8-4 lead. Mayville State was able to cut their deficit by one point on three occasions at 8-7, 9-8 and 10-9. The Trojans were able to close out the match with a 5-2 scoring run for a 15-11 victory, including a kill by Anderson and another kill by Tessa Weeldreyer to close out the match.
Dakota State outhit Mayville State 12-9 in the fifth set. DSU hit .385 (2 errors in 26 attempts) compared to MSU's .259 hitting percentage (2 errors in 27 attempts).
Four Trojan players recorded double digits kills, led by Weeldreyer with 16 kills. Rozell added 15 kills. Caitlin Pick smashed 12 kills. Martin had 10 kills. Anderson earned eight kills.
A pair of DSU setters had set season highs in set assists. Stacey Westby produced 32 assists, while her teammate Vander Wal added 31 assists.
Katherine Gonzalez registered 29 digs for Dakota State. Allison Thielsen added a career-high 23 digs.
Westby recorded four service aces for the Trojans.
Anderson and Pick each had two block assists for DSU. Rozell and Weeldreyer each had a block assist.
Josette Glatt had a match-high 20 kills for the Comets. Remington Werner added 14 kills.
Katie Wangberg recorded a triple-double in the match for MSU. She had 10 kills, 48 set assists and 21 digs.
Paige O'Conner led Mayville State's defense with 31 digs. Freed added 13 digs.
Cassie Ziemer and Kyla Bugner each had seven block assists (3.5 total blocks). Glatt and Kaitlyn Timian each added four block assists. Wangberg and Werner each had three blocks assists.
Dakota State set season highs in kills with 72 and set assists with 67. Mayville State had 65 kills and 56 assists.
The Comets hit .246 in the match (65 kills with 20 errors in 183 attempts) compared to the Trojans' .227 hitting percentage (72 kills with 27 errors in 198 attempts).
Mayville State had 14 team blocks, while Dakota State had 3 team blocks.
The Trojans recorded 90 digs. The Comets had 89 digs.
Dakota State continues their NSAA conference Saturday evening, visiting Valley City State (N.D.). First serve from the Graichen Gymnasium is set for 5 p.m. in Valley City.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
