SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The eighth-ranked Augustana volleyball team (20-4, 11-3 NSIC) earned one of the biggest victories in program history Saturday night. The Vikings defeated top-ranked and previously unbeaten, Minnesota Duluth 25-17, 25-21, 22-25, 25-14 Saturday afternoon to improve to 20-4 on the year.
The battle of top-10 teams saw Minnesota Duluth (21-1, 13-1 NSIC) get an early 2-1 advantage but Augustana quickly took their first lead of the day a 3-2. It was a lead the Vikings would not lose the rest of the set. After four straight points, the Vikings had an 11-6 lead. Augustana was able to get the lead to has much as nine before closing out the set 25-17.

With momentum carrying over from set one, the Vikings took an early 3-0 lead. Minnesota Duluth got back into the match earning their first tie of the set at 10-10. After the two teams traded points to an 11 tie, the Vikings were done playing games and scored four straight points to take a 15-11 lead. The Vikings didn't allow the top-ranked Bulldogs to get within two the rest of the way, winning the set 25-21 and taking a decisive 2-0 lead in the match.

Set three was the lone blemish for Augustana. After earning the first three points of the set UMD scored 14 of the next 18 points taking a 12-7 lead. The Bulldogs held on for a 25-22 set three win.

Augustana came out for the fourth set on a mission to not let this match slip away. The Vikings dominated the set, exploding to a 16-5 lead. UMD made an attempt to get back into the match with three straight points midway through the set to cut Augustana's lead to single digits but the Vikings were having none of it, as they closed out the set with a 25-14 win and took the match 3-1.

Viking of the Match
Bailey Koch was all over the court Saturday setting a career-high in the kills against No. 1 Minnesota Duluth with 16. Her previous high was 15 against Wayne State back in 2014. Koch also did it defensively with seven blocks and four digs. This was the fifth time this season Koch has tallied at least seven blocks in a match.

Viking Notables
• This is Augustana's first win over the No. 1 team in the AVCA since Sept. 7, 2002 when they swept No. 1 West Texas A&M 30-26, 30-26, 34-32
• Anna Sykora set a career-high in assists with 57. Her previous high was 55 against Concordia-St. Paul earlier this year
• This is Augustana's first 20-win season since 2013
• Augustana snaps their four match losing streak to UMD. They are now 10-32 all-time against the Bulldogs
• The Vikings improved to 4-1 against the AVCA Top-5 this season
• After moving to fifth on the all-time career digs list at Augustana last night, Tahlyr Banks leads the team with 26 digs against the Bulldogs
• With Augustana's win over Duluth, there are no undefeated teams left in Division II
• Minnesota Duluth had a team hitting percentage of .303 this season and Augustana held them to a .210 average
• Five Vikings earned double-digit kills: Koch (16), Lauren Waite (13), Kelsey Kaufmann (12), Courtney Place (11), Brittany Cech (10)
• Cech earned a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs

Up Next
Augustana will be on the road next weekend as they travel to Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston.