SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The Augustana volleyball team will hit the road on Friday and Saturday after a splitting a pair of top-10 matchups at home this past weekend. The Vikings face off aga Bemidji State at 6 p.m. on Friday and Minnesota Crookston on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The Match
Six out of the last seven opponents the Vikings have faced have been ranked in the top-25. Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston are the first teams the Vikings have faced that haven't been ranked in the top-25 since Oct. 5 when they faced Minnesota State.

The Beavers (5-14, 2-9 NSIC)
Bemidji State comes off a road trip to Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls where the Beavers fell in both matchups. The Beavers have a three-game losing streak coming into Friday's match. 

The Beavers are led by Becky Schroeder with 2.85 kills per set while Julie Touchett averages 2.51 kills per set. Maddie Mackinac leads the team with 9.55 assists per set and also averages 1.94 digs per set. Defensively, Emma Hallmann leads the team with 4.24 digs per set and Julie Touchett leads with 0.79 blocks per set. 

As a team, BSU averages 11.3 kills, 10.5 assists and 1.4 aces per set. Defensively, the Beavers average 14.6 digs per set and 1.6 blocks per set. 

The Vikings hold a 24-3 record all-time and a 7-1 record in Bemidji. 

The Golden Eagles (4-15, 2-8 NSIC) 
Minnesota Crookston sits in 14th place in the NSIC and are coming off back-to-back losses to Sioux Falls and No. 12 Southwest Minnesota State. 

The Golden Eagles are led by Porsche Porath with 3.14 kills per set, Deaira Gresham with 2.11 kills per set and Sydney Kruisselbrink with 6.01 assists per set. Defensively, Katie Lienemann leads the team with 3.52 digs per set while Shelby Dunbar averages 0.84 blocks per set. 

As a team, UMC averages 9.7 kills, 8.7 assists and 1.2 aces per set. Defensively, the Golden Eagles have recorded 14.8 digs per set and 1.8 blocks per set. 

The Vikings hold an 18-1 record all-time and an 8-1 record in Crookston

The Vikings (12-8, 5-6 NSIC)
Augustana is coming off upsetting No. 8 St. Cloud State and a tough loss to No. 7 Minnesota Duluth. 

The Vikings swept No. 8 St. Cloud State on Friday night inside the Elmen Center. The last time Augustana defeated a top-10 team was in head coach Jennifer Jacobs's first season when they defeated No. 9 Northern State 3-1. 

DOWN GOES No. 8 ‼️

The Vikings record 39 kills and 11 blocks!#GOLDstandard | #BuildingChampions pic.twitter.com/lbUg2oQ3No

— Augustana Volleyball (@AugieVolleyball) October 19, 2019

Sophomore Avery Thorson leads the team in two categories, hitting percentage (.277) and assists per set (9.89). Freshman Maddy Guetter continues to lead the team in kills with 3.00 kills per set while Grace Haberland ranks second with 2.28 kills per set. Haberland also leads the team with 29 aces on the season which ranks fourth in the NSIC.

Freshman Erika Bute leads the charge on the defensive end averaging 5.56 digs per set and ranks second in the NSIC. Sophomore Abby Benson has a team-high 1.03 blocks per set which ranks fourth in the NSIC. Benson and Izzy Sommers finished with six and five blocks against St. Cloud State, the last time two Vikings had five-plus blocks in one match was Kelsey Kaufman (6) and Ashley Wilson (6) at No. 2 SMSU on Nov. 18, 2015. 

As a team, the Vikings average 12.8 kills, 11.8 assists and 1.7 aces per set. Defensively, Augustana has recorded 17.4 digs per set and 1.7 blocks per set. The Vikings rank third in the conference in aces per set and third in digs per set. 

One Last Thing
The freshmen for the Vikings have been phenomenal this season. Maddy Guetter has led the team in kills virtually the whole season with 3.00 kills per set while Erika Bute has been ranked as high as fifth in the nation in digs per set. Earlier this season Bute was named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week and currently sits in second place in the NSIC in digs per set. 

You can't forget about Lexie Langley and Kate Riemann when talking about the fab freshmen. Langley ranks second on the team with 20 aces on the season including back-to-back matches with four aces while Riemann provided a spark against Minot State when she recorded a team-high 16 kills and then followed that up the next weekend with eight kills in two set against Minnesota State.