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This week
Augustana (14-11, 8-9 NSIC) returns home to welcome Upper Iowa (14-12, 7-9 NSIC) and Winona State (13-12, 7-9 NSIC) Friday and Saturday, respectively. The Vikings' match against UIU is scheduled for 7 p.m., and Augustana will play WSU at 5:30 p.m.
On the tube
Fans have a chance to watch Augustana on television both Friday and Saturday in its matches against Upper Iowa and Winona State. The contests will be aired on Midco Sports Network with Jay Elsen handling play-by-play and Kevaney Martin providing color commentary. MidcoSN can be found on channels 26 or 622 for Midcontinent Communications subscribers.
Other places to catch the Vikings this week
Television isn't the only place where fans can follow Augustana live this week. Live stats and a video stream will be available to audiences for both matches. The video stream is provided free of charge through New Media TV and can be found by logging onto
www.GoAugie.com/webcast. Visit
www.GoAugie.com/livestats to view live stats for Augustana's home matches.
Last time out
No. 4 Concordia University, St. Paul's Megan Carlson recorded a match-high 21 kills to help the Golden Bears top Augustana 3-1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-18, 25-22) last Tuesday.
Holly Hafemeyer had a match-high 13 kills to lead Augustana to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-18) victory over St. Cloud State Friday evening. The Vikings then faced CU again Saturday afternoon and the Golden Bears outhit Augustana .320 to .147 to sweep Augustana 25-16, 25-20, 25-12.
Series records
The Vikings have just one loss to Upper Iowa in their five meetings, and it occurred earlier this season on the road. UIU swept Augustana 26-24, 25-23, 25-13 in its first conference match of the season. Augustana is 18-2 against Winona State. The Vikings' first dropped to WSU in the teams' first meeting in 1979. Augustana then turned around and won 18-straight matches against the Warriors until its win streak was snapped on Sept. 17 with a 3-1(25-15, 17-25, 25-12, 25-19) loss. Head coach
Ashley Buckley is 4-1 against both the Peacocks and the Warriors.
Second chances
This weekend will mark the second time this season Augustana has taken to the court against Upper Iowa and Winona State, and the Vikings will be looking for revenge as they fell to both teams to open NSIC action in September. UIU allowed Augustana just 32 kills and a .127 attack percent in the match. Both are season lows for the Vikings.
Hits from Holly
Holly Hafemeyer (Faribault, Minn.) was blowing opponents off the court last weekend as she put on stellar performances against then No. 4 Concordia University, St. Paul and St. Cloud State. Hafemeyer was strong against CU with 15 kills off 39 attacks and no errors to hit .385 last Tuesday. She then had a season-high .500 attack percent against St. Cloud State with 13 kills off 22 attacks and two errors. Hafemeyer is the only Viking with an attack percent above .300 -- hitting .306 on the season and holding the eighth spot in the NSIC with a .297 attack percent (conference matches only).
Killin' it
Jordan Spatenka (Owatonna, Minn.) has reached double-digit kills in 12 of the Vikings' NSIC matches this season. She is averaging 3.35 kills per set (conference matches only), allowing her to grab the No. 9 spot on the conference leaders list. Spatenka led Augustana in kills with 33 during its three matches last week and she has 286 kills in 2011, which is also a team high.
Help from Haley
Dani Haley (Owatonna, Minn.) continues to steer Augustana to a top-five hitting percentage in the NSIC. The junior setter put up 102 assists for the Vikings last weekend, to help Augustana retain its No. 4 spot on the conference leaders list (NSIC matches only) with a .201 attack percentage. Haley averages 12.09 assists per set and is No. 7 in the NSIC (conference matches only).
Freshman impact
Augustana continues to see impressive performances from freshman
Courtney Ysker (Windom, Minn.). Ysker averaged 2.0 kills per set and 2.50 digs per set last weekend. She was three kills shy of notching her second double-double last Saturday in the Vikings' match against Concordia University, St. Paul, recording seven kills and 10 digs.
History lesson
Augustana is in its 39th year of competition in 2011 and own an all-time record of 810-548-14. The Vikings have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances with the last one occurring in 2008.
Coaches' corner
The 2011 season marks
Ashley Buckley's fourth as Augustana's head volleyball coach. Buckley has compiled a career record of 65-55 with the Vikings and is assisted by Kasey Nikkel, who is in her second season as a full-time assistant with the Augustana volleyball program. Also assisting Buckley is second-year graduate assistant coach Lisa Lunning and first-year volunteer coach Mitch Lunning.
What the coaches say
Augustana was picked sixth by the league coaches in the 2011 NSIC Preseason Poll released by the conference office. The Vikings received 106 points in the poll.
Rk Team (first-place votes) Points
1 Concordia, St. Paul (13) 169
2 Southwest Minnesota State (1) 146
3 Minnesota Duluth 143
4 Wayne State 142
5 Minnesota State 120
6 Augustana 106
7 Minnesota State Moorhead 93
8 St. Cloud State 81
Winona State 81
10 Northern State 55
Upper Iowa 55
12 Bemidji State 41
13 U-Mary 21
Minnesota, Crookston 21
Stay connected
It's easy to know the latest on Viking athletics. You can follow Augustana on its various social media outlets, including Twitter (twitter.com/GoAugie), Facebook (facebook.com/GoAugie) and YouTube (youtube.com/GoAugie). To learn more, visit GoAugie.com/stayconnected. For Augustana home broadcasts,
visit www.GoAugie.com/webcast.
Up next
The Vikings conclude NSIC play at home on Nov. 11, welcoming Wayne State for a 7 p.m. match.
