BOX SCORE

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 19 Wayne State erased a 2-1 deficit earning a five-set victory (25-21, 22-25, 18-25, 25-19, and 15-5) over No. 22 Augustana College in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener for both teams on Tuesday night at the Elmen Center. The Vikings dropped to 7-2 overall and 0-1 in the NSIC while the Wildcats improved to 8-1 (1-0 NSIC).

Courtney Ysker led Augustana with her fifth double-double of the season, tallying 16 kills and 18 digs for the night. Sophomore Bailey Koch followed Ysker's performance with 15 kills. Ashley Wilson recorded 13 kills and hit a team-best .385 (13-3-26) for the Vikings.

Setter Marissa Johnson recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 36 assists and 12 digs, while Tahlyr Banks led the Vikings in digs with 19.

After Wayne State started the first set with a kill, Augustana went on a 4-0 run to take a three-point lead at 4-1. the Vikings held its lead until a they made a service error, which was then followed by the Wildcats ace that tied the set at 9-9. The two teams traded points for the remainder of the set until Wayne State pulled away scoring four straight points to gain set point at 24-20 before taking the set by a score of 25-21.
 
The Wildcats jumped out to a 5-2 lead early in the second set, but the Vikings would not go away quietly, eventually tying the set at 11-11 on a service ace by Wilson. With Wayne State leading 20-19 in the second set, Augustana went on a three-point run to go in front 22-20, and eventually closed out the set on two big kills by Ysker to take the second set 25-22.
 
It was all Vikings in the third set as they used a five-point run to break a 12-12 tie and go in front 17-12. Augustana built their lead to 22-14 and went on to close out the set 25-18, giving it a 2-1 advantage in the match.
 
The battle continued in the fourth with both teams playing to a 16-16 tie before the Wildcats pulled away scoring nine of the final 12 points of the set to force a fifth and final set.

In the fifth and final set, Wayne State jumped out to an 8-2 early and never looked back, taking the final set of the night 15-5, and securing the victory in the top-25 matchup between the two teams.

The Vikings will hit the road this weekend to take on Minnesota Crookston on Sept. 19. Augustana closes out the road trip at Bemidji State the Sept. 20.