MATCH NOTES
This week: The Augustana volleyball team (6-5, 2-0 NSIC) travels to Bismark, N.D., on Friday to play a 7 p.m. match against U-Mary (3-8, 0-3 NSIC). On Saturday, the Vikings will be in Aberdeen, S.D., to square off against Northern State (7-4, 0-3 NSIC) at 5 p.m.
Series records: Augustana leads the record against U-Mary 3-0. The Vikings have won nine of the 10 sets played against the Marauders. Augustana's record with Northern State dates back to 1974. The Vikings lead the series 14-4-2.
Last week: The Vikings are coming off a successful conference and home opening weekend, topping Upper Iowa (3-0) Friday night and Winona State (3-1) on Saturday.
Talented Taylor: Taylor Hrdlichka (Lakeville, Minn.) stood out for the Vikings last weekend, hitting .375 with 27 kills (3.86/per set) and four blocks to help Augustana go 2-0. The middle blocker/right side hitter set two career-highs against Winona State last Saturday, recording 20 kills and 41 attacks. Hrdlichka also had three digs for the weekend.
Sophomore duet: Grace Sanders (Lakeville, Minn.) and
Dani Haley (Owatonna, Minn.) continue to set the bar high for the Vikings, each tallying team highs last weekend. Sanders averaged 4.43 digs per game in the Vikings' two matches last weekend and had 31 digs. The libero also recorded one service ace, raising her season total to 10. Haley led the Vikings in assists last weekend, as she totalled 67 (9.57/per set). Haley also had nine kills, three service aces and four blocks.
The Petersen attack: Lindsey Petersen (Elkhart, Iowa) remains one of Augustana's top freshman. She has an impressive .209 hitting percentage and has charted a team-high 108 kills. Petersen had her best match so far this season against Arkansas-Monticello when she totaled a .500 hitting percentage with 14 kills. Last weekend Petersen compiled 17 kills (2.83/per set), two service aces, nine digs and three blocks.
Viking victories: Augustana is now 2-0 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. The last time the Vikings saw a 2-0 record to start conference action was in 2008 when Augustana began NSIC play with a threematch winning streak, taking out Minnesota State, U-Mary and Northern State before dropping to Wayne State (Neb.).
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 43-34. 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 789-527-14. 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 the Penn Atlantic Network. Fans wanting to follow the action can go to the following link: www.pennatlantic.com.
Up next: After a weekend on the road, the Vikings will return home for a series of three home matches. Augustana will face Wayne State Sept. 29 with a scheduled start time of 7 p.m., followed by Bemidji State Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. and Minnesota Duluth Oct. 31 at 4 p.m.
