MARSHALL, Minn. – The Augustana volleyball team (16-8, 9-6 NSIC) took down its second-straight ranked opponent, sweeping No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State (14-9, 8-7 NSIC) 3-0 Saturday afternoon inside the PE Gym in Marshall, Minnesota.

The Vikings, winners of five of their last six matches, have now defeated three ranked opponents this season including back-to-back wins against ranked opponents in No. 12 Wayne State and No. 15 SMSU.
 
In the first set, both teams traded points back-and-forth until Augie built some momentum to push the score to 10-6 forcing a timeout from the Mustangs. The Vikings continued to ride the hot streak and built a 19-12 lead before SMSU clawed back to tie things up at 22-22. A kill by Avery Thorson made the score 24-23, but SMSU answered back with a kill to tie it up at 24-24.
 
After the SMSU kill to tie it up, Augustana would have three set points while SMSU had two set points. Augustana was finally able to string together two consecutive points to grab the 30-28 set one victory. There were 10 ties and five lead changes in the first set.
 
In the second frame, the Vikings jumped out to an early 5-2 lead but the Mustangs would tie things at 7-7. SMSU would build momentum after a slow start to take a 15-12 lead. Augustana put a stop to the Mustang's momentum with a 9-2 run to end the second set, capped off by a Maddy Guetter hammer to take the second set 25-20.
 
Using the momentum from the previous set, the Vikings jumped out to a 10-3 lead forcing an SMSU timeout. The Mustangs slowed Augie down initially but Vikings would take a 19-13 lead late in the third set. SMSU made sure they didn't go down without a fight as they fought back to tie things up at 22-all. Kills from Izzy Sommers and Guetter gave the Vikings match point but a kill from Angela Young kept the Mustangs alive. However, a service error from Payton Hjerleid gave Augustana the upset sweep.
 
Individually, Guetter finished with a team-high 14 kills on a .343 hitting percentage. Thorson recorded 39 assists while picking up six kills on a .714 hitting percentage and added three blocks. Sommers chipped in with nine kills and three blocks.
 
Defensively, Abby Benson had 4 blocks and Erika Bute had 14 digs. Thorson and Sophia Terwilleger had eight digs and six digs.
 
As a team, the Vikings recorded 45 kills and 40 assists. Defensively, Augustana had seven blocks and 39 digs.
 
Quotable
"I know this team has it in them which they've proven the past two matches," head coach Jennifer Jacobs said. "The sky's the limit for this group and the next few weeks are going to be exciting. We keep on grinding and working our tails off in practice and good things happen. I am happy with our play lately!"
 
Up Next
The Vikings host their cross-town rivals Sioux Falls on Tuesday at 6 p.m. inside the Elmen Center.