ABERDEEN, S.D. - No. 14 Augustana defeated their second ranked opponent of the week, knocking off No. 11 Northern State on the road in four sets. The win gives Augustana their 11th win of the year and the Vikings remain perfect in NSIC play, with a 4-0 record.

Set one between the Vikings and Wolves lived up to the hype with a back-and-forth set from the start. Northern State earned the first point of the match but Augustana quickly answered. The two teams continued to trade points this way until a 15-15 tie was interrupted by the Vikings. Augustana put up five straight points to earn a 20-15 advantage late. The five-point lead proved to be too much for NSU as Augustana took set one 25-21.

Early in set two, it looked as though Augustana was going to carry over all the momentum they earned in set one. The Vikings jumped on the Wolves with an 11-6 lead but NSU scored seven straight points midway through the set to take their first lead at 17-16. After a Lauren Waite kill made it 17 all, the Vikings found their groove and took a 20-17 lead. Northern State didn't go away though tying it at 23. After the teams traded points to get to 25 all, Augustana shut the door on Northern State with two straight points to end the set 27-25.

Set three did not go the way Augustana had hoped after coming out of the locker room following the intermission. NSU quickly took at 13-7 lead and held on for a 25-13 win.

Augustana got back on track in set four after earning the first two points of the set. After three quick points from the Wolves, the Vikings took four of the next five for a 6-4 lead. After Augustana broke an 11-11 tie with four straight points, NSU began to make a comeback and cut the deficit to one at 15-14. After an Augustana point, Northern State rattled off five straight to take a 19-16 lead late in the set. Trailing 20-17, it was again Waite with a spark that led to the Vikings scoring three straight to tie it at 20. After NSU made one last push to take a 23-21 edge, the Vikings fought back with the final four points of the night to close out the final set 25-23 and earn the match win 3-1.

Viking of the Match
Bailey Koch finished second on the team with 12 kills on 36 attacks but was huge on the defensive side of the net for Augustana. Koch lead all players on the night with seven total blocks, five assists, and two solo. Her seven blocks were a career-high. Koch also had four digs on the night.

Viking Notables
• The win ends a three-match losing streak to Northern State
• Augustana is 8-2 now against NSU when the match is played in Aberdeen
• The Vikings increased their series record against NSU to 20-9-2
• Last time Augustana began a conference season 4-0 was in 2010. Their fourth win also came against Northern state on the road before losing to Wayne State a week after
• Anna Sykora had 50 assists in the match. It's her second straight 50+ assists performance and the third time she has done it in the last four matches
• Sykora posted a double-double with 50 assists and 17 digs. This was Sykora's seventh double-double of the season
• Brittany Cech (10 kills, 13 digs) and Courtney Place (15 kills and 11 digs) also posted double-doubles
• This is the second straight match that Augustana has had three athletes with double-doubles in the same match
• Tahlyr Banks led the team in digs with 17
• Place led the team in kills with 15
• The Vikings were out hit against the Wolves, .174 to .194
• Augustana improved to 4-0 in 4-set matches
• With the win the Vikings are 4-1 against the AVCA Top-25 this season

Up Next
Augustana will travel to Moorhead, Minn. for a match tomorrow afternoon against MSU Moorhead. First serve against the Dragons will be a 4 p.m.