SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana volleyball team took down the No. 5 Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State in the Elmen Center on Thursday Night. The Vikings captured the win in four sets (23-25, 25-15, 25-14, 25-16) to secure their third straight win. The win over the fifth-ranked team is the highest ranked victory since AU took down No. 1 Minnesota Duluth in 2016.
The Vikings move to a 16-6 record with an 8-6 record in NSIC play. The Mustangs have fallen to a 19-3 record and are 11-3 in the loop.
The Vikings and the Mustangs rallied in set one, switching back-and-forth leads and ties. In a set of 16 ties and six lead changes, it was rally to the end. Sophomore Jolie Stecher highlighted the Vikings' offense hammering in six kills with an astonishing .714 attack percentage to keep AU on the Mustangs' heels. A final kill from SMSU's Saari Kuehl brought the Mustangs to their sole set win of the night.
After a 1-0 SMSU lead in the set, proving to be the last lead of the night for the visitors, Augustana came back to fight in set two opened by an early Viking 6-2 run. The Mustangs responded with a 3-0 run to come within one, but the Vikings took off from there with the lead. The Vikings celebrated a block party in the second set, raining down 12 total blocks in set two alone. Seniors Piper Asche and Kia Kriener led the pack with four blocks apiece to extend the scoring gap. A final block from Asche and Kriener secured the first set win for AU.
Set three was dominated by the Vikings who opened the set with a monster kill from senior Maddy Guetter. A fire was ignited in Guetter during the set by hammering home eight kills in set three alone while delivering an efficient .400 attack percentage. The Vikings dominated the net, overpowering the Mustangs .159 attack percentage with their own .359. Two back-to-back kills by Guetter sent the Vikings with their second set win of the night.
AU came into the fourth, and final, set ready to seal the deal, opening the set with back-to-back blocks by Stecher and Kriener. The Vikings kept the wall up throughout the rest of the set exploiting Mustang attack errors. A final 5-0 run secured the win for the Vikings following another pair of back-to-back Gutter kills.
Overall, Augustana recorded 59 kills and had 24 blocks compared to SMSU's 37 kills and eight blocks. Stecher led the way for Augustana with a .519 attack percentage on 15 kills while totaling 21 points and three service aces. Guetter led the Vikings in kills with 18, while Kriener would finish with four kills and lead with seven blocks.
Aiding her team's dominant defense at the net, senior libero Erika Bute picked up 29 digs with a perfect 1.000 reception line.
Quotable
"The team played great," said head coach Jen Jacobs. "We are finally clicking on all cylinders and I couldn't be more proud of the team."
Up Next
The Vikings will take on their cross-town foe of Sioux Falls Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Stewart Center.
–GoAugie.com–
