BOX SCORE

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The 22nd-ranked Augustana volleyball team won in straight sets against Minnesota Crookston with scores of 25-15, 25-23, and 25-17 on Friday night.

The Vikings improved to 8-2 overall and 1-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference while the Golden Eagles dropped to 7-3 (1-1 in the NSIC) with the loss.

Ashley Wilson led Augustana with 12 kills on the night, and a team-best .526 attack percentage. Courtney Ysker and Bailey Koch followed Wilson's big game with eight kills each.

Setter Marissa Johnson recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 22 assists and 10 digs, while Tahlyr Banks led the Vikings in digs with 13.

Brittany Cech added five kills for Augustana in the victory.

In the first set, the Vikings went on an early 7-3 run, forcing Minnesota Crookston to take a timeout. Two back-to-back blocks from Ysker and Becca Finley gave Augustana a 13-3 lead. The Vikings' hot start continued in the set, highlighted by Koch's big kill that gave the team a 16-6 lead over UMC. Minnesota Crookston tried to make a comeback, going on a 5-0 run. A final kill from Ysker gave Augustana its first set of the night, a 25-15 victory.

The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the beginning of the second set, forcing the Vikings to take a timeout to regain focus. Augustana responded with back-to-back kills by Wilson and Kelsey Kaufmann to cut the UMC lead to one at 18-17. The Vikings took the lead at 20-19 after block assists by Ysker and Wilson. Augustana would go on to close out the second set by winning 25-23.

The battle continued in the third set with both teams neck-in-neck with each other early on until the Vikings went on a 3-0 run that was capped off with a service ace from Anna Sykora to take an 8-5 lead. Kills by both Brittany Cech and Finley gave Augustana a four-point lead at 16-12 over Minnesota Crookston a little over midway through the third set. Two big plays from Cech near the end of the set pushed the Vikings ahead for good, giving them the win at 25-17, and a 3-0 match victory.

Augustana continues NSIC play on the road with Bemidji State on Saturday afternoon with a start time of 4 p.m.