BOX SCORE
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Taylor Hrdlichka logged a career-high 11 blocks as Augustana held off Minot State in four sets (20-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-22) on Saturday afternoon. The Vikings move to 11-2 on the season and the plus side of .500 with a 3-2 record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Beavers fall to 6-8, 2-3 in the NSIC.
Augustana tallied a season-high 16 blocks as a team, led by Hrdlichka's carrer mark, on an afternoon where the Vikings struggled to find an offensive rhythm. Augustana finished with a .230 attack percentage (47-15-139) and didn't have a single player reach double-digit kills until the fourth set.
Minot State was led by Jen Dixon and Mallory Sall offensively and 71 digs as a team. Dixon and Sall combined for 39 kills for the Beavers, but Augustana's blocking held MSU to a .194 attack percentage (60-29-16).
For just the third time this season, the Vikings trailed after the first set and they held a 1-1 record in those matches entering Saturday's match. A sluggish first-set start put the Vikings in a 0-1 hole as they couldn't recover and lost 25-20 in the first stanza. Augustana amassed just 10 kills in the first set while Minot State drilled 16 to take an early lead.
Again, the Vikings fell behind in the second set, but their comeback efforts would be rewarded this time as they evened the match with a 25-23 win. Four more blocks gave the Vikings nine for the match and propelled them to the set win. Augustana trailed 20-17 before closing on an 8-3 run led by a pair of Hrdlichka kills and a trio of Minot State errors.
Out of intermission, the Vikings took back the lead with a resounding 25-16 third-set win. By the end of the third set, five different Vikings had at least five kills and they reached double-digit in blocks.
Minot State would not go down easy in the fourth set, but Augustana wouldn't disappoint the home crowd. The Vikings erased a one-point deficit behind Christine Bielski serving the Vikings to six straight points, but Minot State drew within one before the Vikings closed the match in familiar fashion -- a Holly Hafemeyer solo block.
Hafemeyer led Augustana with 12 kills and Courtney Ysker secured her seventh double-double in eight matches with 10 kills and 10 digs. Kayla Wallerich tallied a team-high 15 digs including a pair of diving scoops to keep Augustana up in the third set. Hrldichka added eight kills to her 11 blocks as she nearly had her first career double-double.
The Vikings embark on their first weekend road trip of the NSIC regular season when the head to Northern State and MSU Moorhead on Oct. 4 and 5.
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