ODESSA, Texas -- Augustana women's volleyball opened play in Texas going 2-0 on the first day of the Dr. Steve "Iceman" Aicinena Invitational in Odessa, Texas, hosted by Texas Permian Basin. The Vikings began their day with a 3-0 sweep against the Savage Storm of Southeastern Oklahoma State, before closing out play with a 3-0 win against the Mustangs of the University of the Southwest (N.M.).
Southeastern Oklahoma State
The Vikings captured the 25-22, 25-14, 25-18, victory in three sets over the Savage Storm to earn their first win of the tournament.
Augustana opened set one with a savvy kill from senior Piper Asche to put the Vikings on top. With early errors from the Vikings, the Savage Storm were able to keep up with the pace. The Vikings fought back with a 5-0 run to pick up the momentum. In a set of six ties and two lead changes, the teams were neck-and-neck until a clutch kill by senior Maddy Guetter brought the Vikings to their first set point of the night to seal the deal in set one.
The Vikings kept the momentum rolling in set two with an early block assist from Asche and senior Kia Kriener bringing the Vikings their first lead of the set. In a back-to-back scoring brawl, the Vikings came out victorious. Augustana took off with a 7-0 run and continued to grow the gap from there. With a final kill from senior Jolie Stecher to bring the Vikings to their second set point of the day, an attack error from the Savage Storm brought home set two for the Vikings.
With momentum on the Vikings side, Augustana would cruise in the third set and take the match with a 25-18 set victory. The Vikings showed their dominance at the net with 3 blocks and 15 kills to hold the advantage. Kriener led both sides of the net in kills with 5 and hit .667 in set three. The Vikings would finish the set on a 5-2 run to secure the set and match point.
Overall, Augustana recorded 37 kills and had four aces compared to the Savage Storms 22 kills and three aces. Guetter had seven kills and two aces on the day to bring an edge to the Vikings. Kriener, would finish with a team-high 9 kills and was the leading scorer at 10.5 points.
On the defensive side, senior Erika Bute grabbed a team-high 14 digs with a perfect 1.000 reception to reign home match one of the day.
University of the Southwest (N.M.)
Augustana took home its second win of the day with a 3-0 win over the Mustangs of the University of the Southwest (N.M.).
The Vikings came out firing on all cylinders in the first set, running away with the 25-8 win. Augustana started with an exponential 8-1 run to start. Seniors Jolie Stecher, Kate Reimann, and Kia Kriener led the team with three kills each in set one hitting .400 and above. A sly kill off the right side for Kriener led the Vikings to a win in the first set.
Augustana hit its stride early in the second set, winning 25-13 after an 8-0 run mid-set. The service line was the advantage for the Vikings in set two. Seniors Kate Reiman and Maddy Guetter had a pair of aces each adding to the 12 total aces on the afternoon for Augustana.
The Vikings proved to be too much for the Mustangs as they took the third and final set 25-7. Augustana took advantage of two big runs in the middle of the set to pull away early in the match.
The win starts Augustana's season with a record of 2-0. Reimann led both teams with 11 kills, six service aces and one assist making a stellar debut in her senior campaign. She also attacked at a stellar .579 percentage. Senior Avery Thorson finished the afternoon with 31 assists and three kills.
Overall, the Vikings had 38 kills compared to the Mustangs 13. Augustana also finished with 12 aces, 34 assists and 35 digs.
Quotable
"I'm proud of the way the team started today," said Augustana head coach Jen Jacobs. "We were focused and determined. I am looking forward to continuing to see our team develop and perfect our craft."
Up Next
The Vikings will finish up play in Texas against Eastern New Mexico at 9 a.m. and the host team Texas Permian Basin at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 27.
--GoAugie.com--
