ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The No. 23 Augustana volleyball squad opened up their 2018 season and the Eckerd classic with a pair of victories Friday. The Vikings began their day with a 3-0 victory over Seton Hill before fighting and clawing to their second victory of the season with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory win over Eckerd College.

Seton Hill Match
Ten kills from senior Courtney Place and a double double from freshman setter Avery Thorson lifted the Augustana volleyball program to their first win of the 2018 season in a dominate three set match over Seton Hill Friday afternoon.

The Vikings (1-0)  won the first set 25-19, the second set 25-15 and the third set 25-20.

Augustana jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first set thanks to a kill from junior outside hitter Sophia Terwilleger followed by a service ace from senior Kaylea Ahrens that gave the Vikings a 18-12 advantage. Place used one of her ten kills to put the Vikings up 22-13 and freshman Izzy Sommers clinched the set one victory with one of her nine kills on the night.

Leading the second set 7-5, kills from Terwilleger, Sommers and an attack error by Seton Hill put Augustana up 10-5. The Vikings controlled the second set from start to finish and sophomore Mearah Miedema got in on the fun by launching a kill to give the Vikings a 20-11 lead.

Augustana opened the third set on a 9-1 run sparked by kills from Place, Sommers and Hanna Justesen. The Griffins tied it up at 13 in the third set

Eckerd Match
The Vikings dropped the first set 27-25 and won the second set 25-20 to tie the match up at one-all. Eckerd was victorious in the third set but Augustana won the fourth set 25-12 to keep the match alive and clinched the match with a 15-10 fifth set victory.

Place had a team-high 22 kills, Thorson had a career-high 47 assists while Ahrens collected 25 digs on the night.

In the fifth set, Augustana led 11-0 and closed out the match on a 5-0 scoring run via back-to-back kills by Place and a kill by Justesen.

The Vikings move to 2-0 on the season and return to action Saturday at 11:30 a.m. with a contest vs. Missouri-St. Louis. Augustana wraps up the Eckerd Classic with a match vs. Charleston at 4:30 p.m.