Box ScoreIn a battle of top 15 opponents, No. 7 Southwest Minnesota State knocked off No. 13 Augustana 30-27, 30-21, 30-23 in the Vikings' home opener Tuesday night at the Elmen Center.
Southwest Minnesota State improved to 8-2 on the season while Augstana slipped to 10-3 after seeing its five-match winning streak snapped.
The first game was a slugfest in which neither team led by more than 4 points. Augustana managed to open a 19-15 lead, but after an SMSU timeout, the Mustangs went on a 9-5 run to tie the score at 24-24.
The teams traded points until Augie held a 27-26 edge. But then SMSU rattled off 4 points on 3 kills and a service ace to close out the game.
Game 2 was entirely different as Southwest Minnesota jumped out to a quick 7-1 advantage. The margin eventually grew to 21-9 before Augustana tried to mount a comeback.
The Vikings managed to cut the gap to 26-19, but that was as close as they would get.
Augustana carried the momentum it generated at the end of Game 2 into the third game as the Vikings quickly grabbed leads of 8-4, 10-5 and eventually 16-9.
However, SMSU gradually chipped away at the deficit before knotting the score at 20-20. The Mustangs continued their rally by taking a 28-22 lead and grabbing control of the game.
Cayla Schroeder led Augustana with 14 kills and 17 digs.
Ellen Andrews joined her in double figures in kills with 13. Meanwhile,
Jenna Lago was the only other Viking in double figures in digs with 13. Setter
Lisa Hoegh dished out 38 assists. As a team, Augustana hit only .129 with 45 kills and 25 errors.
Conversely, SMSU hit .299, recording 59 kills with only 16 errors. Erin Contons tallied a match-high 20 kills, while Laura Hegerle and Krystal Schwanke each had 11. Sara Graf had 46 assists to go along with a team-high 17 digs. Hegerle and Contons each added 14 digs, while Sarah Quiram added 13.
Augustana will open North Central Conference action on Friday when the Vikings take on South Dakota at 7 p.m. Then on Saturday, the Vikings will entertain St. Cloud State at 5 p.m. Both matches will be held in the Elmen Center.
