SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 6 Augustana (14-1, 7-0 NSIC) will travel to Rapid City, S.D. for a rare midseason match against an out-of-region and non-conference opponent. The Vikings will be playing Black Hills State (2-11, 0-6 RMAC) and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (1-15, 0-6 RMAC) Tuesday night at the Goodell Gymnasium.
 
FIRST SERVE
• Augustana earned their 900th win in program history Friday night with their sweep of the University of Mary
• With the Vikings two sweeps this weekend they have swept three matches in a row. It's their second time doing that this season
• Senior setter Anna Sykora returns to her hometown of Rapid City, S.D. for the first time in her collegiate career
• For the first time since the 2012-13 season, Augustana will play a non-conference match in the middle of their conference season
• Augustana will play Black Hills State at 4:30 p.m. and then play South Dakota School of Mines and Technology at 7 p.m.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Augustana has had little success against the Yellow Jackets of Black Hills State in the all-time series. The Vikings are 2-9 all-time. Augustana had lost the first nine match-ups against BHS and had only won one three sets over that streak. The first nine match-ups were played during the 70's and 80's. The Vikings have won the last two match-ups while giving up just one set over that time. The two programs met last season in the Washburn Invitational, a match Augustana won 3-0.
 
Augustana is perfect against the Hardrockers of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, owning a 5-0 all-time record in the series. During Augustana's winning streak the Vikings have only dropped two sets back in 1977 and 1979. This will be the first time in the last two meetings with South Dakota Mines that the match has taken place somewhere other than Sioux Falls.
 
THE LAST TIME THEY PLAYED
• Vikings vs Black Hills State: September 11, 2015; Augustana defeated BHS 3-1 (25-4, 23-25, 25-20, 25-15)
• Vikings vs South Dakota Mines: September 13, 2014; Augustana defeat SD Mines 3-0 (25-10, 25-19, 25-15) in Sioux Falls
 
A Look Black Hills State
Black Hills State enters Tuesday with a record of 2-11 overall and an 0-6 record in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Yellow Jackets began their season at the Dixie State Tournament going 0-3. They didn't pick up their first win until Sept. 10 when they defeated Northwestern Oklahoma State in Kearney, Neb.
Black Hills second win of the season came against NSIC member U-Mary. The defeated the Marauders 3-2. Since their win over U-Mary BHS has lost six in a row. Their most recent defeat came at the hands of Colorado Christian 3-2.
 
A Look at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
SD Mines enters Tuesday with an overall record of 1-15 and an 0-6 record in the RMAC. The Hardrocks have lost seven straight matches. They didn't earn their first set win until Sept. 9 against Minnesota Crookston. The lost to the Golden Eagles 3-1.
The Hardrockers took on Colorado Christian and Colorado School of Mines over the weekend and lost both matches 3-0.
 
AUGUSTANA IN THE RANKINGS
• Augustana jumped two spots in this weeks in AVCA Top-25 Poll. The Vikings are ranked No. 6 in this week's poll.
• The Vikings have been ranked in the AVCA Top-25 poll a total of 208 times of the possible 390 polls. Only Central Missouri has been ranked in every AVCA Poll.
• Augustana tied Grand Valley State at ninth for total number of weeks ranked in the AVCA with 208. They trail North Dakota State by just eight weeks, who has been ranked the eighth most times.
• The Vikings 208 appearances in the AVCA Poll is tied for the 9th most all-time. The only NSIC team to have more appearances is Minnesota Duluth, who have been ranked the third most times with 314
• This is the first time since 2001 that Augustana has spent back-to-back weeks in the AVCA Top-10. They began the preseason ranked third and then fell to seventh on Aug. 28.
• Augustana's highest rank in school history was second back on Dec. 5, 2000
• The Vikings have had a lot of success in program history and it shows with the number of top-10 rankings the program has earned. Augustana has been ranked in the top-10, 71 times. That is the 22nd most top-10 rankings in Division II history. This week they passed UC San Diego and North Alabama for most weeks ranked in the top-10
• The Vikings are sitting in second place in the NSIC with a perfect 7-0 conference record
• Augustana and Minnesota Duluth are the only remaining undefeated teams in the conference
 
When Playing AVCA Top-25 Opponents
• In 2016 Augustana is 4-1 against team's ranked in the AVCA?Top-25
• The Vikings are 3-0 against the AVCA?Top-5 in 2016
• Over the last two season's the Vikings have compiled  a 7-10 record against teams ranked in the AVCA Top-25. During that time Augustana is 4-6 against the AVCA?Top-5
 
UP NEXT
Following Tuesday's matches vs Black Hills State and SD Mines, Augustana will be at home for a huge showdown vs No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul on Friday night. The two AVCA Top-10 teams will square off at 7 p.m. On Saturday the Vikings will host Minnesota State for yet another tough NSIC match-up.