ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Augustana University volleyball program leaves the Eckerd Classic with a 3-1 record to jumpstart their their 2018 season.

Missouri-St. Louis Match
It was a thrilling five set match where the Vikings battled and showed tremendous fight, but ultimately suffered their first loss of the season, 3-2, to Missouri-St. Louis Saturday afternoon in the Eckerd Classic.

Augustana dropped the first set 25-20, bounced back and won the second set 25-21 before Missouri-St. Louis won the third set 25-17. The Vikings won the up-and-down fourth set 30-28 and the fifth set 15-9.

Senior outside hitter Courtney Place led the way for the Vikings with a team-high 19 kills and added 17 digs. Freshman setter Avery Thorson paced the Augustana offense with a career-high 50 assists.

Abby Benson added 10 kills while Izzy Sommers added nine. Kaylea Ahrens led the Vikings with 19 digs while Hanna Justesen tallied 13.

Charleston Match
In their final game of the Eckerd classic, the Vikings stepped on the court vs. Charleston University (WV), and although the Golden Eagles took the first set with a 25-22 victory, Augustana bounced back to win three straight sets to win the match, 3-1. The Vikings improve to 3-1 (0-0) on the year, while the Golden Eagles fall to 0-4.

Tied at 11 all in second set, Augustana used a 14-6 run to grab momentum and win the set 25-17. Augie kept rolling in the third set, jumping out to a 15-6 advantage to win the set 25-19.

The fourth set saw Augustana start strong as they took a 14-6 lead on the Golden Eagles. Led by Place, the Vikes rolled to a 25-11 4th-set victory to take the match.

Overall, Place led the Vikes with 14 kills, hitting .423 from her outside hitter position. Thorson was instrumental in the victory, leading the team with 48 assists and six digs.

Freshman Grace Haberland chipped in 12 kills in the win, while Ahrens led the Vikings with 12 digs.

The Vikings will be back in action this Friday, August 31 when they open the home portion of their schedule in the Augustana invitational at the Elmen center.