SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana volleyball team fell to the No. 3 Golden Bears of Concordia St. Paul in four sets (15-25, 24-26, 125-17, 22-25) in the Elmen Center Saturday night. The loss is the first of the season for Augustana as Concordia-St. Paul moves to 8-2. Both squads are 1-1 in NSIC play. 

Augustana led set one across the board in kills, assists, and receptions but attack errors were the Vikings' demise. The Golden Bears were firing on all cylinders hitting an efficient .419 to stir up the Vikings in set one to claim the 25-15 victory.

Concordia St. Paul kept its momentum rolling into set two but the Vikings were at their heels. In a set of 15 ties and 9 lead changes, it was a back and forth brawl. Seniors Erika Bute and Maddy Guetter both led in aces with one apiece, adding to the Vikings six total aces on the night. Senior Avery Thorson led in assists with 14 in set two alone but the Golden Bears were able to pull away in the final moments to reel in set two. 

Set three was a different story for the Vikings. Augustana led the way in hitting percentage with .167 compared to the Golden Bears -.114 to give the Vikings the advantage. Guetter led the way for the Vikings with 3 kills in set one. Sophomore Jolie Stecher hammered home set point for the Vikings with a nine point lead. 

The Vikings were not able to slow the Golden Bears in set four. Stecher kept the Vikings in it with 6 kills hitting a spectacular .750. However, the Golden Bears were able to pull ahead with a mid set 4-0 run to blaze the trail to match and set point reigned home by a kill from the Golden Bears Emma Schmidt. 

Overall, The Vikings were led by Guetter with 15 kills and two aces. Thorson led with 53 assists and Bute finished off the night with 16 digs and two aces to cap off their weekend matchups.

Up Next 
The Vikings take the road to face the Warriors of Winona State on Friday and the Peacocks of Upper Iowa Saturday. Friday's match is slated for 6 p.m. while Saturday's match begins at 2 p.m. 

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