MATCH NOTES
This week: After four matches on the road, Augustana (10-10, 6-5 NSIC) returns home for its second meeting against three Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponents. On Tuesday at 7 p.m., the Vikings will battle No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State (17-3, 9-2 NSIC). Augustana will then face U-Mary (5-15, 1-10 NSIC) on Friday at 7 p.m. and Northern State (11-9, 3-8 NSIC) on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Series records: Augustana is 26-19-1 in the series with Southwest Minnesota State that dates back to 1974. Earlier this month, the Vikings traveled to Marshall, Minn., to meet up with the Mustangs and lost 3-0. The loss marked the eighth consecutive time the Mustangs have defeated the Vikings. The last time the Vikings defeated the Mustangs was Sept. 21, 2004. The Vikings first played U-Mary in 1990 and are 4-0 in the series. On Sept. 24, 2010, the Vikings swept the Marauders in Bismark, N.D., for the third consecutive time. The first meeting between Augustana and Northern State was in 1974 and the Vikings are 15-4-2 in the series. NSU hosted the Vikings on Sept. 25, 2010, and Augustana took down the Wolves 3-1.
Last week: Minnesota State Moorhead swept Augustana on the road last Friday before the Vikings topped Minnesota, Crookston 3-0 on Saturday.
Get it girl: Jordan Spatenka (Owatonna, Minn.) led Augustana last weekend, averaging 3.00 kills per set to total 18 kills in two matches and hit .341. Spatenka had 11 of her kills against Minnesota, Crookston to hit .409. She also had two blocks in the 3-0 win.
Double-figures:Five Vikings had double-figure total kills for the weekend. Along with Spatenka's 18 kills,
Brooke Lewko and
Taylor Hrdlichka recorded 13,
Lindsey Petersen had 12 and
Brianna Erickson smashed 10.
Hats off to Haley: Dani Haley (Owatonna, Minn.) never ceases to amaze as the Vikings' setter. The sophomore finished the weekend with 58 assists (9.68 per set) and had 32 during Augustana's 3-0 win over Minnesota, Crookston. She also had eight kills and hit .333 for the weekend. Other weekend totals for Haley include one service ace, eight digs and two blocks.
Ranked: With five NSIC opponents in the AVCA Coaches Poll, the Vikings are used to facing ranked opponents. Augustana is up against one ranked opponent this week. Southwest Minnesota State is No. 6 in the latest poll. When the Vikings played SMSU earlier in the season the Mustangs were No. 3. The Vikings are 0-5 against ranked opponents in 2010.
Vikings at home: Augustana owns a 3-2 record for matches played at home this season. The two home matches the Vikings dropped were against then No. 2 Wayne State and No. 1 Minnesota Duluth.
Conference standings: Augustana checks in at No. 7 in the NSIC. Minnesota State is also tied for No. 7.
Who's back: Lone senior
Brianna Erickson (Gurnee, Ill.) will help lead the Vikings through the 2010 season. Erickson captained the team in 2009 and was second on the team in blocks per set with 0.95 in 2009. Along with Erickson, Augustana returns eight players.
Who's new: The Vikings welcome four new faces to this season's roster. Christine Beliski (Chaska, Minn.),
Kayla Wallerich (Marshall, Minn.) and
Holly Hafemeyer (Fairbault, Minn.) are all Minnesota natives, while Lindsey Peterson (Elkhart, Iowa) comes to Augustana from Iowa.
Moving up: In 2009 Kasey Loeslie came to Augustana to work alongside head coach
Ashley Buckley as a graduate assistant coach. This season Loeslie is back to serve her first year as a full-time assistant coach for the Vikings.
Looking back: Last season, the Vikings finished seventh in the NSIC with a conference record of 9-11. Augustana's overall record for the 2009 season was 14-18 and marked the first time since 1995 that Augustana didn't make the NCAA tournament. Sophomore standout
Jordan Spatenka led the Vikings in kills last season with 23, while
Grace Sanders recorded team high 32 digs.
Dani Haley was first on the team in assists, tallying 50.
Coaches' corner: Ashley Buckley enters her third season as head coach and owns a career record of 47-39. She has guided the Viking to one NCAA?Tournament appearance and has coached three All-NSIC performers. Kasey Loeslie is in her second year as an assistant coach. Coaching along with Buckley and Loeslie is first year graduate assistant coach Lisa Hoegh.
Players to watch: Sophomore outside hitter
Jordan Spatenka was named a Preseason Player to Watch in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. She had 154 kills and 33 blocks last season.
History lesson: Augustana is in its 38th year of competition in 2010. The Vikings own an all-time record of 793-532-14. The Vikings have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, with the last one occurring in 2008.
What the coaches say: Augustana was picked to finish sixth in the conference by the 14 NSIC head coaches in their annual preseason poll. Augustana received 104 points in the poll. Concordia University, St. Paul's 11 first-place votes makes for the seventh consecutive season it has been selected as the top preseason team. Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, Wayne State and Southwest Minnesota State came in ahead of the Vikings.
Team (first-place votes) Points
1. Concordia, St. Paul (11) 166
2. Minnesota Duluth (2) 147
3. Minnesota State (1) 142
4. Wayne State 136
5. Southwest Minnesota State 134
6. Augustana 104
7. MSU Moorhead 95
8. Winona State 76
9. Upper Iowa 73
10. Northern State 62
11. St. Cloud State 54
12. Bemidji State 41
13. Minnesota, Crookston 25
14. U-Mary 19
Stay connected:?Stay connected with Augustana volleyball all season long at www.GoAugie.com. The Vikings are also on Facebook and Twitter; just log onto www.facebook.com/GoAugie and www..twitter.com/GoAugie. To catch even more Viking action log onto Augustana's official YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/GoAugie.
Action packed: Live statistics of each home match can be viewed by logging onto www.GoAugie.com/livestats.
Watch it: All NSIC volleyball matches will be webcast live and free of charge on New Media TV. Fans wanting to follow the action can go to the following link: www.pennatlantic.com.
Up next: The Vikings will play Concordia-St. Paul on Oct. 26 in St. Paul, Minn, at 7 p.m. Following the trip is a pair of home matches on Oct. 29 and 30 against St. Cloud State and Concordia-St. Paul. These two matches will conclude the home portion of this year's schedule.
