March 27, 2021

MAYVILLE, N.D. – The battle for the final positioning of the North Star Athletic Association volleyball postseason tournament was not determined until after the final regular-season match between Dakota State (S.D.) and Mayville State (N.D.) Saturday afternoon at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse.  The Comets earned a 3-1 victory over the Trojans, clinching the No. 2 seed for the postseason tournament which is set with the quarterfinals round on Tuesday evening.

Dakota State fell to 13-9 overall record and 9-5 NSAA conference record.  Mayville State, receiving votes in the latest NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, lifted their overall record to 22-9 and 11-3 record in the league.  Both teams split their two NSAA meetings this season in four sets, with each team winning on its home court.

Dakota State, who will be the No. 4 seed for the conference postseason tournament, returns home Tuesday evening as they host No. 5 seed Dickinson State (N.D.).  First serve from DSU Fieldhouse is set for 6 p.m.

The NSAA postseason tournament continues with the semifinals round on Tuesday, April 6, with the winner advancing to the championship match on Saturday, April 10.

(RV) Mayville State (N.D.) 3, Dakota State (S.D.) 1 – FINAL (25-19, 18-25, 25-18, 25-16)

• Mayville State never trailed in the opening set, storming to a 7-2 lead after back-to-back attack errors by Dakota State.
• DSU could get no closer than four points at 15-11 after Maddie Polzin's kill.  Mayville State then went on a 4-0 scoring run to balloon their lead to 19-11.
• A block by Victoria Johnson and Lily Pyle gave the Comets a 25-19 set one victory and a 1-0 match lead.
• Dakota State outhit Mayville State 14-9 in the first set.  The Trojans committed 15 attack errors in 58 swings, hitting with a minus .017 percentage.  The Comets hit .100 (4 errors in 50 attempts).
• The Trojans kick off the second set by scoring four straight points for a 4-0 lead.  MSU rallied back with a 5-1 run to tie the second set after a kill by Mason Hart.
• Tied at 7-7, DSU went on a 6-1 outburst capped by Tayler Corey's service ace for a 13-8 lead.
• VonnaGail Schlechter hit a service ace to give Trojans its biggest lead of the second set at 23-13.  The Comets answered by scoring five straight points to cut DSU's lead to 23-18 after Elora Passa's kill.
• Dakota State closed the second set with a kill by Schlechter followed by a kill by Hannah Viet for a 25-18 victory.  The Trojans knotted the match at 1-1.
• The Trojans smashed 13 kills in the second set and hit .238 (3 errors in 42 swings).  The Comets had 12 kills and registered a hitting percentage of .116 (7 errors in 43 attempts).
• Dakota State and Mayville State went through six ties in the early battle of the third set.  At 10-10, the Comets used a 5-1 scoring surge to open a 15-11 lead.
• Leading 18-15, MSU closed the third set with a 7-3 run.  Ashley Pyburn smashed a kill to secure the third set at 25-18 and grabbed a 2-1 match lead for the Comets.
• Both teams had 12 kills in the third set.  MSU hit .133 (6 errors in 45 attempts) and held DSU to .060 hitting percentage (9 errors in 50 attempts). 
• Trailing 3-1 in the fourth set, Dakota State went on a 6-0 outburst to grab a 7-3 lead.  DSU collected kills from Riley Grandpre, Schlechter, and back-to-back kills by Polzin, as well as a service ace by Madalyn Groft.
• Mayville State went on a 9-2 run to regain their lead to 12-9 after a block assist by Pyburn and Passa.
• Down 13-10, the Trojans scored four straight points to earn a 15-14 lead and forced the Comets to call its final timeout of the fourth set.
• Mayville State closed the fourth with a monstrous 11-1 run, thanks to six kills from Pyle for a 25-16 victory. 
• MSU hit an impressive .304 in the fourth set (20 kills with 3 errors in 56 attempts).  DSU was .145 hitting efficiency with 12 kills and four errors in 55 swings).
• There was a total of 242 digs combined by both teams – 123 digs by Mayville State and a season-high 119 digs by Dakota State.
• Peyton Groft had a career-high 41 digs for the Trojans.  She registered three service aces.  Corey also had a career-high 22 digs.  Schlechter added a season-high 17 digs. 
• Polzin posted a double-double of 19 kills and tallied 11 digs for DSU.  She registered five block assists.  Madalyn Groft also had a double-double of 43 set assists and collected 16 digs. 
• Viet smashed 10 kills in the match for Dakota State.  She had three block assists.  Grandpre recorded eight kills and five blocks (2 solos, 3 assists). 
• Passa recorded a triple-double of 28 set assists, 12 digs, and 10 kills for Mayville State.  Johnson added 15 kills and four blocks (1 solo, 3 assists).  Pyle tallied 12 kills and five block assists.  Pyburn had eight kills and six block assists.
• Rachel Hill contributed 15 set assists for MSU.  Hart earned 40 digs and two service aces.  Amy Seim had 24 digs.  Jordyn Lucas collected 23 digs.
• Mayville State had two more kills than Dakota State, 53-51.  The Comets hit .170 (20 errors in 194 swings) and held the Trojans to .098 hitting percentage (31 errors in 205 attempts).
• MSU was 98.9 percent from the serving line, committing just one error in 92 serves (2 aces).  DSU was 93.7 percent service with five aces and five errors in 79 attempts.
• The Comets registered 10 team blocks (1 solo, 18 block assists) compared to the Trojans eight blocks (2 solos, 12 assists). 

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director