ABERDEEN, S.D. — The Augustana Volleyball team split the second day of the Northern State Volleyball Classic in Aberdeen, South Dakota, on Saturday afternoon. The Vikings started the day with a victory over South Dakota Mines (3-1) and fell to No. 19 Northern State (3-0).
Two Vikings made the All-Tournament team in Avery Thorson and Erika Bute.
Augustana moves to 5-3 on the season, the Hardrockers are now 6-2 and the No. 19 Wolves are 5-3.
South Dakota Mines: W, 3-1
Augustana senior Payton Rosendahl had a career day in the 3-1 victory over South Dakota Mines. Rosendahl, hailing from Creston, Nebraska, had a career-high 22 kills while having an incredible .556 hitting percentage.
When pairing Rosendahl's hot hand with 23 total blocks from Augustana's defense, the Vikings would give the Hardrockers a tough match.
In spite of South Dakota Mines being in the driver's seat for almost the entire first set, the Vikings flipped the switch after the Hardrockers had an advantage of 22-17.
From that point, veteran play came up big for the Vikings.
Senior Avery Thorson had three of Augustana's next five points, with kills by Rosendahl and Maddy Guetter added into the mix, to erase the Hardrocker lead at 22-all.
South Dakota Mines would score its final point, before the Vikings would have a 3-0 run to take set one, 25-23.
A similar event happened in the second set, this time favoring the Hardrockers, after a stalemate at 22-all, The Vikings would score its last point before South Dakota Mines claimed three unanswered points to win set two, 25-23.
The Hardrockers hung with the Vikings early into the third set, having a one-point advantage at 12-11.
Augustana then went on to score eight of the next nine points, with four different Vikings accounting for the offensive burst.
Freshman Jolie Stecher had two kills, Rosendahl had two kills and Thorson added two kills and a service ace to give the Vikings a 21-12 advantage.
The Hardrockers attempted a late run but fell short with a kill by Callie Hohenhaus handing the Vikings set three, 25-18.
Augustana hit the ball well in the fourth set, accumulating 16 kills in the 25-15 victory to claim the match (3-1). Rosendahl accounted for five of the Viking's 16 kills and handed the Hardrockers its second loss of the season.
The Vikings were led by Rosendahl with 22 kills, Thorson with 44 assists and Bute with 19 digs.
The Hardrockers were led by Dejah Behrend with 11 kills, Kiley Metzger with 21 assists and Emma Grimm with 22 digs.
No. 19 Northern State: L, 3-0
The Vikings had to turn around and face a fresh Northern State team. Coming off a match for the Vikings, paired with a fresh Northern squad, the task proved to be too much Saturday..
The Vikings had two close affairs with the Wolves in the first two sets, losing 26-24 and 25-22, respectively.
Augustana came out in the first set with determination and never let Northern State gain a convincing lead.
The Vikings were in a good position heading into a Northern State timeout, trailing 22-21, and were able to bring the game back to a stalemate at 24-all.
However, the Wolves were able to find the two points to claim the first set at 26-24.
The Vikings battled with the Wolves in the second set, being at a stalemate multiple times before Northern State closed the door at 25-22.
Augustana's fatigue was showing in the third set, as the Wolves jumped out to a 6-0 lead and did not look back.
A kill by Thorson would bring the set to 13-9 in favor of the Wolves but the Vikings could not get closer than that.
Northern State went on to win the third set 25-16, and claim the match 3-0.
The Vikings were led by Guetter with 12 kills, Thorson garnered 30 assists and Bute had 10 digs.
The Wolves were led by Natalia Szybinska with 14 kills, Keri Walker garnered 41 assists and Havyn Heinz had 11 digs.
Up Next
The Vikings start conference play next week, heading to St. Cloud, Minnesota, to face No. 13 St. Cloud State on Friday slated for a 6 p.m. start. Augustana then travels to Duluth, Minnesota, Saturday to face No. 11 Minnesota Duluth at 2 p.m.
—GoAugie.com—
