BOX SCORE SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Augustana's winning streak reached six with a four-set win over Minnesota State. The Vikings' 25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 25-18 win pushes them to 14-2 overall, 6-2 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference while the Mavericks fall to 8-7, 4-4 in the NSIC.
Courtney Ysker and
Holly Hafemeyer's steady offense and the Augustana defense withstood a resilient Minnesota State bunch to improve Augustana's record in four set matches this season to 5-0. The Vikings also make it three straight wins over the Mavericks with Friday's victory, the longest run since their five-match streak was snapped in 2007.
Ysker tallied a match-high 20 kills and notched her 10th double-double of the year with 10 digs to pair with her offensive output. Augustana scooped up 77 digs as a team -- four Vikings reached double figures in digs -- and totaled nine blocks to hold the MSU offense to a .180 attack percentage (51-22-161) on the night.
Hafemeyer drilled 16 kills at a .375 clip (16-4-32) and she is now just 15 shy of reaching the 1,000-kill milestone.
Brittany Cech led the defense with 19 digs and
Kelsey Kaufmann had a match-high five blocks with
Taylor Hrdlichka adding four for the Viking defense.
Augustana hit .429 in a tight first set and took a 1-0 lead with a 25-22 win. In a set that featured nine tie scores, the Vikings broke the final tie with a Hafemeyer kill and a Cech ace, putting them up 22-20. Ysker hit a kill and a Kaufmann and Hrdlichka block gave the Vikings a 1-0 lead in the match.
Cech's 12 second-set digs weren't enough to squelch the Minnesota State attack and the Mavericks evened the match with a 25-22 win. The Vikings led 11-9, but a well-placed MSU timeout turned the tides. A 10-4 Minnesota State run created a deficit from which Augustana couldn't recover as they were held to a .138 attack percentage in the second set.
Augustana grabbed the lead on a service error by Minnesota State to open the third set and the Vikings never relinquished their advantage, taking the third set 25-23. The Mavericks battled back to tie the set at 22-22, but Ysker's two kills and
Christine Bielski's stellar back row defense -- the senior defensive specialist made three diving digs when the Vikings held a one-point advantage -- gave the Vikings the third set.
Hafemeyer served the Vikings to nine straight points for a 13-3 lead in the final set and the Vikings coasted to their 25-18 fourth-set win. Augustana's front line of Ysker, Hafemeyer, Hrdlichka, and Cech recorded 12 kills in the last set to pace the offensive attack.
The Vikings return to action Saturday afternoon against No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul in the Elmen Center at 4 p.m.
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