FAYETTE, Iowa - No. 6 Augustana (18-2, 9-1 NSIC) got a huge contribution tonight from junior Bailey Koch, on their way to their 18th victory of the season. Koch set a career-high in blocks with eight, against Upper Iowa as the Vikings swept the Peacocks (25-15, 25-20, 25-9) Friday night.

Augustana wasted little time against Upper Iowa (9-10, 3-7 NSIC) in the first set as they jumped out to a quick 5-1 advantage thanks in part to three consecutive blocks by Hanna Justesen and Bailey Koch. Midway through the set the Vikings lead was cut to five at 14-9 but Augustana did not allow the Peacocks to draw any closer. Augustana only allowed Upper Iowa to score two straight points three times on their way to a 25-15 set one win.

Set two started out going against Augustana as Upper Iowa quickly took a 6-2 lead. The Peacocks kept their foot on the gas scoring five-straight points and taking a 14-8 advantage before the Vikings finally awoke to flip the script. With Anna Sykora serving Augustana scored 10-straight points to take an 18-14 lead that they wouldn't surrender the rest of the set. Upper Iowa made it close at 22-19 but the Vikings took the set 25-20.

The final set of the evening was similar to the first with the Vikings taking an early 6-2 lead. A little later in the set Augustana scored five-straight points to make it 17-8 before UIU interrupted the Vikings rally with their final point of the evening. Augustana closed the set with eight-straight points to take it 25-9.

Viking of the Match
Bailey Koch was unstoppable Friday night as she set a new career-high with eight blocks against the Peacocks. Along with leading the match in blocks, she also led all players with 13 kills on 20 attacks. Koch had a hitting percentage of .650 and added a dig to her stat totals.

Viking Notables
• Koch set a career-high with eight blocks
• Koch also led the match with 13 kills which tied a season-high
• Sykora had a match-high 35 assists
• Brittany Cech had a match-high 18 digs. She added seven kills on the night as well
• The Vikings had a .600 hitting percentage in the third set
• Augustana held Upper Iowa to a .042 hitting percentage on the night
• This is the first time since Sept. 25, 2015, that the Vikings have held an opponent to a hitting percentage under .050. The last time they did it was also against Upper Iowa who they also held to an identical, .042 hitting percentage
• The Vikings 18-wins matches their total from last year and the year before
• Augustana improves to 10-1 in 3-set matches this season
• The Vikings improve to 11-2 all-time against Upper Iowa and earn their fifth straight win in the series

Up Next
Augustana will be on the road tomorrow night against No. 7 Winona State at 6 p.m. The Vikings and Warriors met earlier in the season at the Augustana Invite in a non-conference match that Winona State won, 3-0.