Sagan Osborne – Dickinson State Sports & Marketing Information Director
Dickinson, N.D. – In just their third home match of the season, a raucous home crowd saw Dickinson State (5-16, 1-5 NSAA) take down Mayville State (8-14, 1-5 NSAA) in straight sets (25-18, 25-15, 25-23), to kick off Homecoming weekend at DSU.
The Blue Hawks, energized by the home crowd, were led by a double-double effort from McKenzie Moser (14 kills, 10 digs), while Madi Wahl (9 kills), Scarlette Schwindt (7 kills), and Makyah Albrecht (8 kills) all had strong performances in the match.
DSU controlled the match for most of the night, as they reached 20 points first in all three sets.
In the first and second sets, the Blue Hawks were able to pull away from the Comets late with big kills from up and down the roster. However, in the third set, Mayville State turned a 20-19 deficit into a 22-20 lead and threatened to force a fourth set.
Dickinson State wouldn't allow that to happen. Kills by Moser, Albrecht, and Schwindt put DSU back in front and after an error by both sides, Albrecht put the finishing touches on the win with a kill from the right side.
Setter Rylee Kogolshak piloted the offense with poise all night, assisting on 34 of the teams 43 kills and dumping two home herself along the way while also assisting on two blocks. Defensive Specialist Aubrey Allison led the match with 13 digs and Carmen Pallone added 3 block assists, also a match high.
"The girls have really put in a lot of hard work in practice to understand what it takes to be a successful team," said Head Coach Stormy Siemion. "Not only that, but they play with the passion and heart that played heavily in tonight's win. We attacked the best I have seen so far this year, and I put a large majority of that on Rylee. She puts our hitters in the best possible position, and it really paid off. The best is yet to come, and this was a great start in Scott Gym."
The Blue Hawks out hit the Comets .154 to .041 on the match as a team, buoyed by a .350 percentage in the first set.
DSU returns to action tomorrow, Friday October 18, at 3 pm MT as they take on Valley City State in another big NSAA conference match.