SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The eighth-ranked Augustana volleyball team (19-4, 10-3 NSIC) put on a defensive clinic in a 25-15, 26-24, 25-13 sweep of St. Cloud State Friday night at the Elmen Center.

The eighth ranked Vikings got on the board early with a 2-0 lead. St. Cloud State (8-14, 3-10 NSIC) was able to tie the match at two shortly after. The two teams remained close on the scoreboard for the next few points. After the Huskies scored a point to make it 9-7 Vikings, Augustana began to pull away, scoring 12 of the next 14 points and grabbing a 20-10 lead. The Vikings went on to win the set 25-15.

In the second set Augustana took a 6-3 lead before St. Cloud State was able to tie it 10. The two teams remained close until SCSU scored three straight points, taking a 14-12 lead, their largest of the night. Augustana battled back, scoring six of the next eight points to take a two-point lead of their own. Late in the set, SCSU tied the match at 21 after scoring three straight points. They took their final lead at 23-22 before the Vikings scored two straight, taking a 24-23 lead. Following a Huskie point, the Vikings got a kill from Courtney Place and won the set on a St. Cloud Rotation error.

In the third and final set of the night Augustana wasted little time putting points on the scoreboard. With a 6-4 Viking advantage, Augustana went on a 7-0 run to make it 13-4. Midway through the set Augustana took an 18-6 lead after scoring four straight points. Augustana went on to win the set 25-13, taking the match 3-0.

Viking of the Match
Kelsey Kaufmann had a great match off the bench tonight for the Vikings. Kaufmann was tied for the match-high in kills with nine on 13 attempts. Kaufmann had a season-high .692 hitting percentage. She added two blocks and an assist to her stats sheet.

Viking Notables
• Tahlyr Banks led the team in digs with 14
• Banks moved to fifth all-time in the career digs with 1,562. She passed Lindsay Voss who had 1,552 career digs from 1997-2000.
• The Vikings 19 wins is the most since the team has earned since the 2013 season when they won 22 matches
• Augustana held SCSU to a .080 hitting percentage. It's the fourth time they have held an opponent to less than .100 hitting percentage this season
• The Vikings are now 45-21 all-time against St. Cloud
• Augustana is 23-1 against the Huskies in matches played at home
• This was the Vikings ninth straight win over St. Cloud
• This was Augustana's 11th sweep of the season
• Anna Sykora led the team in assists with 35
• Kaufmann and Brittany Cech tied for the team-high in kills with nine
• Bailey Koch led the team with four blocks

Up Next
Augustana will be back in action tomorrow afternoon as they host No. 1 Minnesota Duluth at 3 p.m. Be sure to wear pink tomorrow so you can get a $5 ticket.