Bismarck State College Mystics Athletics

BISMARCK, N.D. -- The energy inside the Bavendick Center was high for Bismarck State volleyball's historic first varsity match in the building, and the crowd got exactly the kind of moment it came for as the Mystics erupted in celebration on set point to open the match. But Mount Marty (S.D.) settled in from there, taking the final three sets to spoil BSC's home debut with a 3-1 win (23-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-22) on Saturday night.

The loss drops BSC to 2-3 on the season, while Mount Marty improves to 6-4.

SET ONE: BISMARCK STATE WINS 25-23

The Mystics set the tone in their first-ever set at the Bavendick Center, hitting a scorching .300 as a team (17 kills, five errors, 40 attempts) to Mount Marty's .114 clip. BSC never trailed by more than a point down the stretch, and the crowd came alive as the Mystics closed it out 25-23 for the historic first set win in the building.

SETS TWO THROUGH FOUR: MOUNT MARTY TAKES CONTROL

Mount Marty flipped the script in set two, hitting .296 to BSC's .026 en route to a 25-17 win that evened the match. The Lancers carried that momentum into set three, riding a .143 hitting clip -- against a BSC attack held to .000 -- to a 25-19 win and a 2-1 match lead. BSC pushed back in the fourth, out-hitting Mount Marty .258 to .243, but the Lancers closed it out 25-22 to take the match.

Mystics Key Performers

• Ashlee Stanger led BSC with 15 kills on .281 hitting for a team-high 15.5 points
• Reese Duchsherer added 12 kills on .194 hitting for 12.0 points, along with 10 digs and 46 reception attempts without an error
• Aislyn Hogan directed the offense with 35 assists and added eight digs
• Piper Harris paced the back row with 10 digs
• Ellie Baumstarck was efficient in limited action, hitting .750 on three kills in four attempts for 4.0 points
• Summer Thomas chipped in five kills for 7.5 points

Game Notes

• BSC out-blocked Mount Marty 7.0 to 5.0 as a team
  • Tied for most blocks in a single by the Mystics this season. Last season's highest total was 10.0 against VCSU
• The Mystics finished with six team aces to Mount Marty's 11
• BSC hit .300 in the opening set -- its best single-set clip of the match, and fourth highest among the 18 sets played this season -- before dipping to .026 and .000 in sets two and three
• The first meeting between the two teams, Mount Marty now leads the series 1-0

Mount Marty Key Performers

• Caitlin Guenther led all players with 12 kills on .231 hitting for a match-high 17.0 points, adding two solo blocks
• Jaya Wachholtz added 13 kills on .194 hitting for 13.5 points
• Adi Indahl posted nine kills for 9.0 points and two solo blocks
• Maycee Williams ran the Lancers' offense with 21 assists and added five service aces
• Taylor Dobrenz paced Mount Marty's defense with seven digs

The Mystics open Frontier Conference play this week with a three-match road trip. BSC travels to Dickinson State (N.D.), 1-6 on the season, on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT (6 p.m. MT) at Scott Gymnasium, before heading to No. 8 Bellevue (Neb.), 4-2 on the year, for a 6 p.m. Friday match at BU Fieldhouse. The trip wraps up Saturday at 2 p.m. against Dakota State (S.D.), 3-3 this season, at the DSU Fieldhouse in Madison, S.D. See the volleyball schedule for information on how to follow the team during their upcoming road trip.