BOX SCORE WINONA, Minn. – Augustana fell in four sets on the road to Winona State in a match with major conference and region implications, 25-16, 19-25, 17-25, 19-25. The Vikings' record drops to 17-11 overall, 11-8 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference competition while the Warriors improve to 20-9, 12-7 in the NSIC.
With both teams jostling for position in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference standings and Central Region rankings, a three-set match was out of the question. The Vikings and Warriors were in a four-way tie for fifth in the NSIC standings entering today's match. Both are ranked in the top 10 of the Central Region rankings with Augustana at ninth and Winona State checking in at No. 10.
The Vikings took the first set, but only hit a .071 attack percentage for the match and the Warriors were able to register attack percentages of .256 and .250 in the third and fourth sets proving to be the difference. Augustana also surrendered eight service aces and were blocked nine times. This is first time the Vikings have lost a match after winning the first set in the 2012 season.
In the first set, the Vikings hopped on Winona State early, starting on a 5-0 run. The Warriors woke up and the set was deadlocked at 13-13 before Augustana closed the door. Winona State committed six errors to fuel Augustana's 12-3 run to take the first set 25-16. The Vikings managed just a .026 attack percentage, but held the Warriors to -.132 forcing 11 attack errors.
The Vikings dug a hole the second set and couldn't recover, eventually dropping the set 25-19.
Holly Hafemeyer did her best to keep Augustana in it with six kills in the second set. Through two sets, neither team was swinging well; the Vikings hit .071 and the Warriors .045, with a combined 32 errors between the two teams.
Once again, Augustana started slowly in the third set, but eventually tied the Warriors 16-16. A 3-0 Winona State run forced the Vikings to use their second timeout, but that could slow down WSU. The Warriors closed the third set on a 9-1 run and took it 25-17. The Vikings hit -.029 as a team in the third set and Winona State swung at a .256 clip.
The Vikings were within one point of the Warriors in the fourth set before a five-point WSU run created a cushion for the home team. The deficit was too much for Augustana to overcome and they dropped the fourth set 25-19, losing the match 3-1.
Hafemeyer finished with a match-high 15 kills and
Courtney Ysker contributed 12 to lead the Augustana offense.
Four Vikings tallied at least 12 digs with
Grace Sanders scooping up 23 for a match-high.
The Vikings now travel to Fayette, Iowa for a 3 p.m. match with Upper Iowa on Nov. 10.
