SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Riding a seven match NSIC win-streak, with a victory over then ninth-ranked Northern State over the weekend, the Augustana volleyball team looks to continue their winning ways in conference play. However, it won't be easy, as the Vikings travel to Minnesota State Mankato with a match with the Mavericks on Friday before taking on the defending national champions and third-ranked Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday.

Friday's match with Minnesota State is scheduled for 6 p.m., while Saturday's match with the Golden Bears is set for a 4 p.m. first serve.

Two members of the Augustana volleyball team earned NSIC Player of the Week honors for their performances over the weekend. Libero Tahlyr Banks earned defensive Player of the Week while setter Alex Banker earned setter of the week.

Banks, a senior from Omaha, Neb. had 23 digs in the 3-0 win over the Dragons on Friday night, and 22 digs on Saturday, helping the Vikings defeat the Wolves on Saturday.

Banker, also a senior from Omaha, Neb. tallied 39 assists on Friday and a career-high 60 assists on Saturday. She averaged 14.14 assists per set. She has the second-most assists in the conference with 815.
  Junior Courtney Place ranks third in the NSIC with 278 kills on the season. Senior Lauren Waite is second on the team and ranks seventh in the NSIC with 664 kills on the season. Middle blockers Ashley Wilson and Bailey Koch each rank in the top-10 in total blocks. Koch, a senior out of Litchfield, Minn. ranks fourth in the league with 71 blocks while Wilson, a senior out of Sioux Falls, S.D.,ranks eighth in the NSIC with 68 blocks.

Head coach Jennifer Jacobs, a 2004 graduate of Minnesota State Mankato, was inducted into the 2017 Maverick Athletic Hall of Fame and will make her first trip back to the Taylor Center as the head coach of Augustana.

"I'm excited to return to the gym I have so many good memories in, and look forward to making many more with Augustana" coach Jacobs said. "I somehow seem to frequently be blessed to be in the right place at the right time. My college years were amazing at MSU, and likewise, now my time at Augustana feels so at home, too. It'll be exciting."

The Mavericks (11-8, 5-6 NSIC) are coming off a weekend in which they defeated Minnesota Crookston, 3-1, and Bemidji State 3-0. Freshman outside hitter Mara Quam leads Mankato with 272 kills while junior Sydney Powell leads the Mavs with 3.14 kills per set.
Mankato ranks atop of the NSIC with 130 service aces with 1.94 aces per set. The Mavs are hitting at a 0.225 clip this season, which ranks eighth in the conference.
They are allowing opponents to hit 0.178 on the season.

Concordia-St. Paul (17-2, 10-1) is riding a two match win-streak after sweeping both Crookston and Bemidji State over the weekend. Prior to the Golden Bears' loss to #6 Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 7, they had won eight matches in a row.

Concordia-St. Paul leads the NSIC in team assists (1,005) and is second in the conference in team kills (1,054).
The Golden Bears are led by junior setter Elizabeth Mohr, who leads the NSIC and is second in the conference with 934 assists. Freshman Brooklyn Lewis leads the team in kills with 258 which is the fourth highest in league play.

"This weekend we need to continue to keep the ball off the floor on our side and stay in system as much as possible," Jacobs said. "Both Minnesota State Mankato and Concordia-St. Paul have a lot of attack options that we need to be ready for. Playing any NSIC team on the road is tough so we are going to have to stay mentally focused one set at a time."