Augustana Set For NSIC Quarterfinal Match Against Minnesota Duluth

11/20/2019 4:41:00 PM

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The Augustana volleyball team takes on No. 2 seed Minnesota Duluth Friday at noon in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament at the Sanford Pentagon.

The Match
The Vikings and the Bulldogs square off for the second time this season. UMD came out with the win earlier in the season when the two played inside the Elmen Center. This will be the first time the two teams will match up against each other in the NSIC Tournament. Students can receive free tickets courtesy of the Augustana Athletic Department on Friday if they stop by the booth at the main entrance.

The Bulldogs (23-5, 14-4 NSIC)
Minnesota Duluth is coming off dropping both matches to No. 21 Upper Iowa and No. 16 Winona State. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 8 in the latest AVCA Top-25 and clinched the No. 2 seed in the NSIC Tournament with a 14-4 record during conference play.

The Bulldogs are led by Kate Berg with 4.28 kills per set while Meredith Sutton averages 2.69 kills per set. Emily Balts leads the team with 12.16 assists per set and Madison Gordon has recorded 29 aces on the season. Defensively, Keena Seiffert has recorded 5.03 digs per set while Abby Thor has sent back 88 blocks.

As a team, UMD has averaged 15 kills, 14 assists and 1.3 aces per set. Defensively, the Bulldogs have averaged 16.4 digs per set while recording 1.7 blocks per set.

The Vikings (20-9, 13-7 NSIC)
Augustana is coming off splitting the weekend against No. 7 Northern State and MSU Moorhead. The Vikings ended the season winning their last 9-of-11 matches en route to clinching the seventh seed in the NSIC Tournament after a successful ending to the regular season.

The Vikings are led by Maddy Guetter with 2.94 kills per set and Grace Haberland with 2.27 kills per set. Avery Thorson leads the team with 10.16 assists per set while Izzy Sommers has a team-high .285 attacking percentage. Defensively, Augie is led by Erika Bute with 5.44 digs per set and Abby Benson with 87 blocks on the season.

As a team, the Vikings average 13.1 kills, 12.1 assists and 1.7 aces per set. Defensively, Augie has recorded 17.8 digs per set and 1.7 blocks per set.

One Last Thing
The Vikings are back in the NSIC Tournament after missing it last year. Augustana has clinched a spot in the tournament for the sixth time since joining the league. The Vikings will be looking for its second win all-time in the tournament after beating Northern State in 2017 for its first win in program history.

--GoAugie.com--

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