SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- After two weeks on the road, the Augustana volleyball team will return home to the Elmen Center this weekend for a pair of Northern Sun Conference matchups. The Vikings will take on Minnesota Crookston on Friday at 6 p.m., and Bemidji State Saturday at 5 p.m.

The Vikings (5-12, 0-9 NSIC), are coming off a challenging weekend where they traveled to northern Minnesota and fell to Minnesota Duluth (3-0) on Friday, and St. Cloud State (3-0) on Saturday.

Defensively, the Vikings are 10th in the NSIC with 998 digs this season (15.84/set) and 11th in blocks at 1.57 per set. Freshman Avery Thorson is averaging nearly 10 assists per set, which also ranks 11th in the conference.

With 260 kills on the season, senior Courtney Place has set the pace offensively. Redshirt freshman Izzy Sommers has also stepped up, chipping in nearly 2 kills per set for the Vikings.

Scouting the Opponent - Minnesota Crookston
The Golden Eagles come into this match  14th in the NSIC at 3-14 (1-8 NSIC). This past weekend, they dropped two conference matchups against Southwest Minnesota State (3-0), and versus the University of Sioux Falls in straight sets.

The Golden Eagles offense is led by Deaira Gresham with 138 kills (2.71/set), Ali Schueler leads the defense with 232 digs (3.80/set), and setter Sydney Kruisselbrink leads in assists with 408 on the season.

Augustana leads the all-time series 15-1.

Scouting the Opponent - Bemidji State
The Beavers come into the weekend with a 5-12 (2-7 NSIC) record. Most recently,  Bemidji State fell to the University of Sioux Falls (3-1) Friday and Southwest Minnesota State (3-0) Saturday.

The Beavers are led by Anna Averkamp with 154 kills (2.57/set), Emma Hallmann with 230 digs (3.54/set), and Mary Campbell has 278 assists.

Augustana leads the series 23-3 and has won the last 11 meetings.

Friday's match vs. the Golden Eagles features the Pink Night promotion. Fans who wear pink will receive $5 tickets, there will be pink item giveaways throughout the match as well as a breast cancer survivor recognition. On Saturday vs. the Beavers, Fans can participate in the "Be bold, wear gold" promotion and with tickets from the Saturday football game can receive $5 admission. Fans not in attendance can follow the action at Goaugie.com/live.