Box Score
The Augustana volleyball team lost a defensive battle to No. 15 Wayne State in Wayne, Neb. Tuesday night. The Wildcats defeated the Vikings 3-1 by scores of 25-20, 25-27, 25-20 and 25-19.
The Vikings fall to 12-18 on the season and 7-11 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. The Wildcats improve to 27-6 overall and 15-3 in the conference.
Set one remained close in the beginning with the Vikings tying the score at 7-7 after a block by senior right side Ellen Andrews and freshman middle Brooke Lewko. The Wildcats then scored seven points in a row to take a 14-7 lead. The Vikings were able to pull to within two at 22-20 after a kill by junior outside Beth Talcott, but a service error by the Vikings ended their chances of a comeback and the Wildcats would only let the Vikings score one more point on their way to the victory.
The second set remained even throughout, with the Wildcats tying the score at 19-19 after a Viking attack error. Augie put together a small run and gained a 23-20 advantage with a kill by freshman right side Jordan Spatenka. A service error by the Vikings plus a Wildcat kill brought Wayne State to within one at 23-22, but a kill by junior middle Brianna Erickson gave the Vikings game point and seemed to be the final nail in the coffin. However, Wayne State battled back, and brought the score to 24-24 after a Viking attack error. The teams traded kills until senior outside Jenna Hultgren pounded a ball to give the Vikings a 26-25 advantage, and freshman setter Dani Haley ended the set with a kill of her own.
The Wildcats gradually built a lead in set three, and were on top 21-17 thanks to an attack error by Augie. Two kills from Erickson plus a kill by Talcott brought the Vikings close to tying it up at 21-20. Talcott hit her next attempt out of bounds and Wayne State scored the last three points in a row to close out the set.
The teams traded points in set four and were tied 17-17 in after a kill by Spatenka. The Wildcats scored four unanswered points and forced the Vikings to call a timeout at 21-17. Augie would only score two more points as a kill by Wayne State's Jennifer Hefner ended the match.
The game was a true defensive effort as Augie tallied 85 digs and Wayne State had 87. Freshman libero Grace Sanders recorded a game-high 28 digs while Talcott collected a career-high 26. Four Wildcats were in double-digit digs.
The teams also blocked the ball well with Augie recording 10 team blocks and Wayne State collecting 11. Spatenka had six blocks on the night with Erickson adding 5. Lewko and Andrews tallied four and three blocks, respectively.
Andrews led the Viking offense with 16 kills and Erickson added 10 kills and no errors.
The Vikings will play two more matches this week, taking on MSU Moorhead a 7 p.m. on Friday in Moorhead, Minn. Augie will conclude its regular season with a 4 p.m. match at Minnesota, Crookston on Saturday.
