SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - No. 8 Augustana (14-1, 7-0) earned their third straight sweep against an NSIC opponent. The Vikings defeated Minot State (25-18, 25-15, 25-22) to earn their seventh straight win and remain unbeaten in NSIC play.

The two teams traded points early in the first set to a 2-2 tie before Augustana rattled off three straight points to take the lead for good. Minot State (5-10, 0-6 NSIC) cut the Vikings lead to 10-9 after scoring four straight but Augustana quickly got the lead back up to three. With an 18-15 lead late in the set, the Vikings scored six of the next seven points to extend their lead to 23-16. Augustana went on to win the set 25-18.

After Minot State took the first point of set two, Augustana scored six of the next seven to take a 6-2 lead. Minot State battled back though with five of the next six points, including four straight, to tie it at seven. After the score was nine all the Vikings scored six straight and forcing a Minot timeout. Augustana won the set 25-15.

For the second consecutive set, Minot State earned the first point. The Beavers kept the pressure on Augustana, extending their lead to four at 7-3. The Vikings handled the pressure well, tying the set at nine. They took their first lead of the set at 15-14. After the Beavers tied it at 17, the Vikings took their lead back and never looked back. Augustana won the set 25-22.

Viking of the Match
Bailey Koch was all over the court in today's win against Minot State. Koch once again led the team in blocks, tying a career-high with seven. This was Koch's fifth straight match leading the team in blocks, and 10th match overall. She also had eight kills on 14 attacks with three digs.

Viking Notables
• This is the first time in program history that Augustana has started 7-0 in conference play
• Augustana extended their all-time record against Minot State to 8-0
• The Vikings had 11 blocks in the match. This was the team's fifth match this season in which they earned double-digit blocks
• Alex Banker started her first match of the season and had a match-high 37 assists
• Hanna Justesen had a match-high 13 kills
• Tahlyr Banks had 14 digs

Up Next
Augustana will have a full slate next week, starting with a road trip to Rapid City on Tuesday. The Vikings will play two matches in Rapid City, the first against Black Hills State at 4:30 and the second against South Dakota Mines at 7 p.m. Augustana will then host No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul on Friday and Minnesota State on Saturday.