SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The Augustana volleyball team fell to No. 7 Minnesota Duluth 3-0 on Saturday afternoon inside the Elmen Center. 

Using last night's thrilling win over No. 8 St. Cloud State, the Viking volleyball team jumped out to a strong start against UMD on Saturday. Augustana used a 6-1 run to open up the first set. The Bulldogs answered back with a run of their own to tie and take the lead a 9-8. 

After back-and-forth points from each team, the Vikings took a 17-12 lead to force a Bulldog timeout to try to stop the momentum. The tactic worked for UMD as it reeled off five-straight points to tie things at 17 all. The Bulldogs would use another clutch run to make the score 23-21 before a kill by Grace Haberland made the score 23-22, but Minnesota Duluth capitalized off an attacking error from the Vikings and a kill from Sydney Lanoue to steal the first set 25-22. 

In the second frame, Augustana started off slow but fought back to tie it up at 7-7 and later take the 10-8 lead. That would be the last time the Vikings controlled a lead in the set as the Bulldogs would get hot at the right time to take a 15-10 lead. Augie fought back with UMD at set point to cut the lead to 24-20 but a Kate Berg kill sealed the deal for the Bulldogs as they took the 25-20 set two victory. 

With the momentum on the Bulldog's side, UMD built an early 10-3 lead. The Vikings used a service ace from Haberland and an attacking error to make the score 15-10, but UMD closed the match on a 7-2 run to take the 3-0 victory. 

Abby Benson recorded a career-high 12 kills while Haberland finished with seven kills. Avery Thorson had 25 assists and six digs while Erika Bute finished with 15 digs. 

Overall, the Vikings had 32 kills, five aces and 28 assists. Defensively, Augie finished with 44 digs and 4 blocks. 

Quotable
"It was a good fight this afternoon," Jennifer Jacobs said. "We didn't quite capitalize offensively as much as I would have liked but I'm glad we got a win this weekend."

Up Next
The Vikings travel to Bemidji State on Friday at 6 p.m. and Minnesota Crookston on Saturday at 3 p.m.