BOX SCORE MOORHEAD, Minn. - Augustana came from behind in the fourth and fifth sets to grab their fifth consecutive win when they beat Minnesota State Moorhead in five sets on Saturday evening. The Vikings' 19-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-23, 15-13 win moves them to 13-2, 5-2 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference competition, and the Dragons fall to 10-5, 3-4 in the NSIC.
Augustana fell behind 23-20 and 13-10 in the fourth and fifth sets, respectively, before escaping Moorhead with their five-set win.
Holly Hafemeyer smashed two of her match-high 21 kills to spark the fourth-set comeback and she followed it with two more and a solo block to bring the Vikings back in fifth stanza.
Leading the MSU Moorhead attack, Annie Palmquist equaled Hafemeyer's offensive output with 21 kills and a .400 (21-3-45) attack percentage. Megan Gradishar helped the Dragons hit a .262 (71-18-202) attack percentage with 20 kills.
Brittany Cech and
Courtney Ysker each notched a double-double with 11 kills apiece and 15 and 18 digs, respectively.
Marissa Johnson dished out 54 assists and picked up 15 digs to join Cech and Ysker with double-doubles. Kayla Wallerichl led the back-row defense with 25 digs and Hafemeyer racked up a career-best four solo blocks paired with two block assists up front.
The Vikings started in a hole the first set and nearly erased a six-point deficit, but the Dragons ran away to a 25-19 first-set win. Augustana evened the match with a 25-21 win after securing a lead early in the set and holding on with help from a pair of
Kelsey Kaufmann kills. Cech recorded two kills in the final four points to even the set heading into intermission.
Augustana looked to take over of the match when they jumped out to a 6-3 lead, but MSU Moorhead ripped back control with a 12-2 run and coasted to a 25-15 win in the third set. The Dragons drilled 18 kills and hit just three errors for a .405 attack percentage in the third set while Augustana was held to a match-low .108 in the third.
The match was all but over when Augustana squandered a 15-9 lead in the fourth and fell behind 23-20, but Augustana wouldn't go down without a fight. The Vikings got back on track with an MSUM attack error and tied the set with back-to-back Hafemeyer kills. Another Dragon error gave Augustana the lead and Cech evened the match at 2-2 with a service ace.
Augustana found itself in the same position as the fourth set, down three points with MSU Moorhead needing just two to win the match, so the Vikings turned to their All-America again. Hafemeyer blocked Maggie Gruber's attack and smashed a kill to pull the Vikings within one then
Julia Witt tied the match with an ace. Augustana took the lead on a set error and Hafemeyer drilled the match-winning kill.
The Vikings return home to take on Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul on Oct. 11 and 12.
--- GoAugie.com ---
