SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana volleyball team took down the Peacocks of Upper Iowa in a five set thriller (25-19, 26-24, 23-25, 19-25, 15-13) in the Elmen Center on Friday Night.
The Vikings are now 17-8 on the season and are 9-8 in NSIC play. The Peacocks are now 14-10 and are 8-9 in the loop.
Set one was opened by a kill hammered down by senior Maddy Guetter to add to her total 27 kills on the night. The Vikings kept the lead from there pulling away with a lead as high as 11 points. The Vikings dominated the net hitting an efficient .333 attack percentage over the Peacocks .174. A final kill rained down by Guetter secured the Vikings their first set win of the night.
The Vikings kept the momentum rolling into the second set but were matched by an eager Peacock offense. In a set of seven tied scores and three lead changes, it was a back-and-forth brawl until the very end. Guetter and senior Kate Reimann made the difference for the Vikings both throwing down four kills and four total points each in the second set. A fatal Peacock error sent the Vikings home with their second set win of the night.
Sets three and four were taken by the Peacocks but the Vikings never gave up in the fight. Seth three consisted of nine tied scores and six lead changes to keep both sides of the net even. Set four was controlled by the Peacocks who took off with an early lead and pulled away. The Vikings kept at the Peacocks heels with a late 5-0 run to be within four but the Peacocks pulled away with their final three kills to take home their two set wins of the night.
The fifth, and final, set was a fight to the finish line. The Peacocks opened the set with a kill and a Viking attack error to grasp the lead. The Vikings responded with a mid-set 3-0 run including an ace by sophomore Jolie Stecher to hold a point advantage over the Peacocks. A final 5-0 run by AU rallied home the match and set point for the Vikings.
Overall, the Vikings were led by Guetter with 27 kills, 30.5 points, two aces, and one block. Following Guetter was Reimann with 20 kills, 21 points, and one block. Both Guetter and Reimann achieved major career milestones in this evening's match. Guetter tallied her 1000th kill with the Vikings while Reimann threw down her 600th kill and achieved a career high of 20 kills in a single match.
Senior setter Avery Thorson put up a career high of 66 assists in tonight's match while also adding on one ace to aid the Vikings offense.
On the defensive side, senior libero Erika Bute achieved 26 digs with a perfect 1.000 reception on the night. Seniors Piper Asche and Kia Kriener both protected the AU court with three blocks a piece while also throwing down 10 kills.
Quotable
"Proud of the fight the team had tonight, battle tested," said head coach Jen Jacobs. "Congrats to Maddy and Kate for hitting career milestones as well and looking forward to going after it tomorrow."
Up Next
The Vikings face the Warriors of Winona State tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. in the Elmen Center.
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