DENVER, Colo. - A team total of 35 hitting errors, 8 service errors, 4 blocking errors, and 3 ball handing errors almost cost Lady Argo volleyball its second match of the year, but a 23 kill performance from freshman Sydney Andersen helped overcome those mistakes. It took every one of those kills for UP to earn a 3-2 (20-25, 25-16, 25-19, 20-25, 15-11) victory over Mayville State University in the Johnson & Wales Tournament.
 
"I think the travel got to us a bit, and then we definitely go out of rhythm. Made too many errors early and it shook our confidence a bit," UP Head Coach Arunas Duda said. "Credit to our kids for grinding it out though."
 
Andersen leaped out of the gate in the first set, scoring 3 of the game's first 6 points on kills. It was after that initial onslaught that the team got out of sync. UP committed 12 hitting errors in the set, eventually losing the lead about halfway through. Andersen finished the game with 7 of the team's 15 kills.
 
In both the second and third sets, the Lady Argos got out to early leads and held them. They corrected some of their previous mistakes, totaling 10 hitting errors in the two sets, became a bit more versatile offensively. While Andersen continued to be a danger, juniors Melissa Gonzalez and Mariah Diaz, along with freshman Kailey Rashford started to get in on the act.
 
UP hit for a percentage of .244 in a 25-16 second set win, and .173 in a 25-19 third set win.
 
Based on the way the previous sets had gone, it seemed like the Lady Argos had found their groove and would finish off the match in the fourth set, but that wasn't to be. UP handed the Comets 10 points in the set off of errors and dropped the game 25-20.
 
Mayville's momentum carried through into the tiebreaker set, where the Comets took a 9-7 lead. With their backs up against the wall, UP rallied off 7 straight points with freshman setter Ava Larkin serving. The run included big kills from Diaz and Rashford and 2 kills from Gonzalez.
 
By the end of that rally, the Lady Argos were a point away from victory and three points later he made it to 15 on a kill from Gonzalez to end the match.
 
While Gonzalez was the strongest in the final set, Andersen carried the team throughout the match, finishing with 23 total kills and a hitting percentage of .268. Next highest in total points was rightside hitter Mariah Diaz who not only had 11 kills but also had 4 block assists. The next two points leaders were Gonzalez with 12 kills and Rashford with 8 kills and 5 block assists.
 
Feeding all of that explosive, though still mistake prone hitters was freshman setter Ava Larkin who has already taken control of the Lady Argo offense in just her second collegiate contest. She finished with 43 of UP's 64 total assists and added 13 digs to earn UP's first double-double of the season.
 
Defensively, sophomore libero Olivia Snead led the Lady Argo's with 25 digs (a career high) and led the team with 3 aces.
 
UP is now 2-0 on the season and will play two more matches on Day 2 of the tournament, this time against Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) at 11:30 a.m. and York University at 4:30 p.m.