ODESSA, Texas -- Augustana volleyball completed its second and final day of the Dr. Steve "Iceman" Aicinena Invitational in Odessa, Texas, hosted by Texas Permian Basin. The Vikings began their day with a 3-2 five-set thriller against the Greyhounds of Eastern New Mexico, before closing out play with a 3-1 win against the Falcons of Texas Permian Basin.
Augustana is 4-0 on the season. The 4-0 start marks the first time AU is 4-0 since starting 7-0 in 2016.
Eastern New Mexico
The Vikings captured the 25-18, 19-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-10 victory in five sets over the Greyhounds to earn their third win of the tournament.
Augustana opened set one with a strong kill from senior Kia Kriener and an error from the Greyhounds to put the Vikings in the lead. However, attack errors from the Vikings kept the Greyhounds neck-and-neck. Augustana was able to pull away with a 4-0 run to maintain the lead the rest of the set. Senior Maddy Guetter made the difference for the Vikings following a monumental kill mid-set to establish a six point lead and brought the Vikings to their first set point of the match. Guetter finished set one with 4 kills hitting .429.
The Greyhounds came back biting to claim sets two and three, overpowering the Vikings in kills and blocks in both sets. Set two was a back-to-back brawl until the Greyhounds clinched a 4-0 run to secure them the end of set two. In set three a sensational kill by Kate Reiman tied the set at 13 until the Greyhounds went on a 5-0 run which led them to their second set win of the match.
Set four sparked a fire in the Vikings, down by two in the beginning Augustana established dominance with a 7-0 run leading the Greyhounds to take an early time out. Augustana would cruise through set four where their lead never dipped below three points. Kreiner and senior Kate Reimann both utilized the service line with an ace a piece adding to the five total aces the Vikings had in the set. An attack error from the Greyhounds brought the Vikings to their second set point of the morning match.
In a final set with five ties and four lead changes, set five was a true nail biter. Coming out of an AU time out, senior setter Avery Thorson had a stellar kill that would spark the momentum the Vikings needed to go on a 5-0 run that led to a Greyhound time out. Thorson sealed the deal at the service line with an ace that would spread the gap enough to clinch the fifth and final set leading the Vikings to their third match win of the weekend.
Overall, Augustana recorded 57 kills and had five aces compared to the Greyhounds 53 kills and three aces. Reimann had a team-high 13 kills and 16.5 points as well as three service aces on the day to bring an edge to the Vikings. Thorson would finish with a team-high 39 assists and one service ace.
On the defensive side, Kriener grabbed a team-high 18 digs with a perfect 1.000 reception to reign home match three of the tournament.
Texas Permian Basin
Augustana took home its fourth win of the weekend with a 3-1 win over the Falcons of Texas Permian Basin 25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 25-19. The win proved to show Augustana as the only undefeated team in the tournament.
The Vikings came out with a vengeance creating a 4-0 lead early to set the tone for the first set. Junior Jolie Stecher led the Vikings in set one with four kills hitting an elite .500. Senior Piper Asche had a stellar performance at the net with two solo blocks and three kills in set one, while senior Maddy Guetter hit her stride early with two kills and a service ace to reign home a set win.
Augustana fell to the Falcons in set two following a back and forth brawl until the Falcons hit a 4-0 run to seal the deal. In a set of eight ties and two lead changes there was never a moment of true dominance. Guetter added three service aces to the Viking stat line two of which were back-to-back. Asche and Riemann had three kills apiece to keep the Vikings on the Falcons tail but multiple attack errors were the fault of the Vikings in set two.
In set three, the Vikings proved to be too much for the Falcons as they took the set 25-19. An early clutch kill by Kriener set the momentum for Augustana and led them cruising into a third set win. A stellar performance behind the service line by Reiman with three back-to-back aces added to the momentum. A stealth service ace by senior setter Avery Thorson led the Vikings to their second set victory.
The Vikings reigned home another 25-19 win in set five. Augustana started out on fire with a 7-0 lead forcing a UTPB timeout. The Falcons answered with their own 9-1 run to tie the set at 14 until Kriener responded with a clutch kill and block assist to bring the Vikings a two-point lead. Two back-to-back kills by Reimann reigned home the set and match point of the tournament.
Kriener had the team-high of 11 kills and 15 points making her dominance on the court known. Guetter had four service aces and Reimann had three adding to the total 11 aces on the afternoon match. Thorson finished the afternoon with 36 assists and four kills.
On the defensive side, senior Erika Bute grabbed a team-high 23 digs with a perfect 1.000 reception to reign a tournament sweep.
Overall, the Vikings had 50 kills compared to the Falcons 39. Augustana also finished with 11 aces, 43 assists and 70 digs.
Quotable
"I'm proud of the team this weekend. We outlasted in some long matches and got better as the tournament progressed," said Augustana head coach Jen Jacobs. forward to returning back to Sioux Falls and hosting at the Pentagon next weekend."
Up Next
The Vikings will host the Augustana Volleyball Classic at the Sanford Pentagon Sept. 2-3. For more information on the tournament click here.
--GoAugie.com--
