WAYNE, Neb. – No. 8 Augustana University volleyball dropped a tough four-set match at No. 9 Wayne State College in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Tuesday night. The Wildcats (16-5, 7-5 NSIC) won by scores of 25-12, 12-25, 25-19, 25-21 to hand the Vikings just their fourth loss of the season. Augustana now sits at 18-4 overall, including 9-3 in NSIC play.
 
The Vikings were led offensively by Courtney Place who finished with 18 kills for her 14th double-digit kill performance of the season. Augustana finished the night hitting just .188 as a team. Brittany Cech and Hanna Justesen added nine kills for the Vikings. Cech and Justesen each added double-digits in digs with Justesen picking up 16 and Cech 10.  
 
Tahlyr Banks led Augustana with 19 digs on the night while Anna Sykora registered her ninth double-double with 46 assists and 18 digs. Bailey Koch added eight kills for the Vikings to go along with a solo and three block assists.
 
Wayne State was led by Erin Gross who finished with 19 kills. The Wildcats finished the match with 12 total blocks.  
 
The first set was evenly matched from the get-go as the Wildcats were able to hang on for a 25-22 victory. The Vikings jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first before the Wildcats reeled-off six straight points to go in front 7-4.
 
The two teams traded points before the Vikings used a 5-1 run near the midway point of the set to regain the lead at 15-14. Wayne State's Erin Gross responded with three straight kills to give the Wildcats a 17-15. The first set would see three more tie scores before Wayne State was able to secure the set at 25-22.
 
It was all Augustana in the second set as the Vikings cruised to a 25-12 victory. The Vikings opened up an 8-3 lead using a five-point run with Banks on the serve. Wayne State was able to get within four at 12-6 but the Vikings closed-out the set with a 9-0 run to take the second 25-12.
 
The third set saw a back-and-forth affair as the two teams traded the first 16 points for an 8-8 tie. The Wildcats were able to take a 12-11 lead before using a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 18-11. Augustana's Dani Magdzas fueled a 3-0 run with back-to-back kills to help the Vikings get within four but the Wildcats pulled away with a 25-19 victory in the third.
 
The fourth set started the same as the third with the Vikings and Wildcats trading the first 20 points playing to a 10-10 tie. Wayne State then went on a 4-1 run to take a 14-11 lead and the Vikings weren't able to catch up. Lauren Waite picked up a kill to make it 19-18 before the Wildcats pulled away to win the decisive fourth set 25-21.
 
Augustana returns home this Friday and Saturday for a pair of NSIC contests. The Vikings will host St. Cloud State at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21 before squaring-off against No. 1 Minnesota Duluth at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Elmen Center.