BOX SCORE
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Augustana used big matches from Courtney Ysker and Brittany Cech to sweep American International (25-16, 25-18, 25-14) on Saturday evening at the SpringHill Suites Invitational. The Vikings move to 3-0 for the first time since 2008 while the Yellow Jackets fall to 2-2 on the season.
Augustana's 3-0 record is the longest winning streak to open a season since the 2008 squad opened the year 6-0 in head coach Ashley Buckley's first year at the helm. The Vikings' three straight sweeps is the first time they have done so since 2011 and the first time they have opened a season with three consecutive straight-set wins since 1999.
Ysker hit a season-high 16 kills and Cech notched the first Augustana double-double of the year with 10 kills and 11 digs. The Vikings hit .344 in the match aided by setter Marissa Johnson's 41 assists.
Augustana cruised in all three sets without letting the Yellow Jackets to score more than 18 points in a set. American International was held to a .046 attack percentage, the second time the Vikings have held an opponent below a .050 clip on the year.
The Vikings erased a brief deficit with a five-point run to take the first set 25-16. After falling behind 5-6, three straight errors by AIC and a service ace from Lindsey Petersen gave Augustana a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Ysker and Cech combined for nine kills to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead in the match.
Once again, Augustana was locked in a tight set early, but another mid-set run gave the Vikings a 25-18 set win. Holly Hafemeyer had two big kills during Julia Witt's six-point serving spree and Hafemeyer finished with nine kills on the match – the second consecutive match the Augustana middle blocker has arrived just one kill short of reaching double figures.
The match was sealed when Augustana jumped on the Yellow Jackets early and coasted to a 25-14 third-set win. Ysker hit a clean six kills with no errors to pace the Vikings in the final stanza. Witt scooped up six digs in the final set to hold American International to a .000 attack percentage with just seven kills and an equal amount of errors.
Bailey Koch made a seamless transition to the college game in her first appearance by racking up five kills and only one error. The Vikings were also big in the defensive game with seven total blocks – a season-high – led by Hafemeyer's four block assists and one solo block.
For the second consecutive match, Johnson dished out at least 40 assists and now holds a 13.5 assist/set average. The Vikings also compiled eight service aces using Ysker and Witt's three aces each.
The Vikings close out the SpringHill Suites Invitational tonight at 10:30 when they play host Alaska-Anchorage at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
