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This week
Augustana (2-2, 0-0 NSIC) returns to the court to continue non-conference action Friday and Saturday at the MSU Moorhead Dragon Classic. First up for Augustana is Minnesota, Crookston (3-1, 0-0 NSIC) Friday at 10:30 a.m. followed by Minot State (2-2) at 3:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Vikings will take on St. Cloud State (2-2, 0-0 NSIC) at 12:30 p.m. and Minnesota State Moorhead (1-3, 0-0 NSIC) at 5:30 p.m.
Last time out
Augustana opened the 2011 campaign last week by going 2-2 at the Nebraska-Omaha Showcase. The Vikings kicked off the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State before dropping 3-0 to Arkansas-Fort Smith. Augustana recovered from the loss with a 3-1 win over Northwest Missouri State before Nebraska-Kearney knocked off the Vikings 3-0 to close the weekend.
Series records
The Vikings have yet to drop a match to the Golden Eagles in Augustana's eight meetings with Minnesota, Crookston. Last October, Augustana defeated UMC 3-0 on the road.
Ashley Buckley is 5-0 against UMC. Augustana's only meeting with Minot State was in 1977 and resulted in a 2-1 Viking win. The Vikings hold a 39-21 all-time advantage over St. Cloud State. Augustana and SCSU?first squared off in 1982. Last season, Augustana edged a 3-2 victory over the Huskies at home. Buckley is 4-1 against SCSU. Augustana leads the series against Minnesota State Moorhead 14-5. MSUM topped the Vikings 3-0 last October. Buckley is 3-2 against the Dragons.
Hafemeyer sets the bar high
Holly Hafemeyer (Faribault, Minn.)?posted a career-high 18 kills and a .472 hitting percentage against Arkansas-Fort Smith last weekend at the Nebraska-Omaha Showcase. Hafemeyer ranks third in the NSIC in blocks and is fourth in kills (all matches). She is also among the top 10 in the conference in hitting percentage, checking in at No. 6. To see more on where Hafemeyer and the rest of the Vikings rank within the conference turn to page 3.
Mastering defense
The Vikings held Southeastern Oklahoma State to a .000 hitting percentage in set one and a -.040 hitting percentage in the second set last Friday. SOSU tallied a .060 hitting percentage for the entire match.
Immediate impact
Freshman
Courtney Ysker (Windom, Minn.) made all four starts for Augustana last weekend, notching 33 digs, 25 kills, three assists, two service aces and two blocks.
Killin' it
Augustana had three sets in which they hit more than .300 as a team last weekend, but the Vikings saw their best collective performance in their first set against Northwest Missouri State. Augustana finished the set with a .500 hitting percentage, 15 kills and just one error.
Vikings find talent for 2011
Head Coach
Ashley Buckley brings back a team in 2011 that includes three new additions. The Vikings welcome 6-foot right side hitter
Mikayla Gallagher (Ramsey, Minn.); 5-7 defensive specialist
Julia Witt (Hutchinson, Minn.), and 5-9 outside hitter
Courtney Ysker (Windom, Minn) to the roster. Gallagher played varsity as a sophomore, junior and senior and led her team to a 23-8 record in 2010, recording 262 kills, 123 digs, 54 aces, 41 blocks and 24 assists. Witt was a three-year letterwinner and led her team in digs during three consecutive seasons to pick up all-conference honorable-mention accolades as a junior. Ysker was a three-time Class A All-State first-team selection and a three-time All-Southwest Conference honoree while also helping guide her team to the state title as a sophomore.
Coaches' corner
The 2011 season marks
Ashley Buckley's fourth as Augustana's head volleyball coach. Buckley has compiled a career record of 51-44 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.
Viking airtime
Augustana volleyball contests will air three times on Midco Sports Network in 2011. MidcoSN can be found on Channel 26 or 623 for Midcontinent Communications cable subscribers.
Oct. 25 Concordia University, St. Paul at Augustana
Nov. 4 Upper Iowa at Augustana
Nov. 5 Winona State at Augustana
History lesson
Augustana is in its 39th year of competition in 2011 and own an all-time record of 798-539-14. The Vikings have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances with the last one occurring in 2008.
In twenty ten
Augustana finished seventh in the NSIC last season with a conference record of 10-10. The Vikings were 14-15 overall.
Dani Haley,
Grace Sanders and
Jordan Spatenka led the team in assists (970), digs (589) and kills (266), respectively, for the second consecutive season.
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.
Video webcasts
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and New Media Television have again teamed up to webcast each conference volleyball game in 2011. A complete broadcast schedule is available at www.northernsun.org.
Up next
Augustana begins conference action Sept. 16 and 17, traveling north to face Upper Iowa (7 p.m.) and Winona State (4 p.m.).
