MATCH NOTES (PDF)
This week: The Augustana volleyball team makes its 2010 season debut on Friday when the Vikings travel to Golden, Colo., for the Oredigger Classic. Augustana will play four matches in two days at the Colorado School of Mines' Lockridge Arena.
Match times: The Oredigger Classic gets underway for the Vikings at 2 p.m. on Friday when they face Mesa State. The action on Friday continues when Augustana squares off against Colorado School of Mines at 8:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Vikings take on Slippery Rock at 11 a.m. and Fort Lewis at 5:30 p.m. All times are central.
Series records: Friday's match against Mesa State marks just the second meeting between the Vikings and the Mavericks. The first meeting occurred on Sept. 6, 1996, when Augustana beat Mesa State 3-1 at the Nebraska-Kearney Godfather's Challenge in Kearney, Neb. This weekend will be the first time the Vikings go head-to-head against the Colorado School of Mines, Slippery Rock and Fort Lewis.
Amazing Grace: Sophomore libero
Grace Sanders returns to the Vikings for the 2010 season after a stellar freshman year in which she was named 2009 All-NSIC honorable selection. Sanders recorded a career-high 32 digs against St. Cloud State on Sept. 29 and led the team in digs with 4.94 per set.
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 Lindsay 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.
Coaches' corner: Ashley Buckley enters her third season as head coach and owns a career record of 37-29. 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 Hough.
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
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.
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.
History lesson: Augustana is in its 38th year of competition in 2010. The Vikings own an all-time record of 783-522-14. The Vikings have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, with the last one occurring in 2008.
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 against Colorado School of Mines can be viewed by logging onto www.GoAugie.com.
Watch it: All NSIC volleyball matches will be webcast live and free of charge on the Penn Atlantic Network. Fans wanting to follow the action can go to the following link: www.pennatlantic.com.
Up next: On Sept. 8 the Vikings travel to Kearney, Neb. to play Nebraska-Kearney. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.
