SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana volleyball opened play at the Augustana Volleyball Classic going 2-0 Friday at the Sanford Pentagon. The Vikings began their day with a 3-2 five-set thriller against the Hardrockers of South Dakota School of Mines before closing out play with a 3-0 win against the Dragons of MSU Moorhead. Although the Dragons are in the NSIC, the contest was a nonconference match.

Augustana is 6-0 in 2022 while South Dakota Mines and MSU Moorhead are both 2-4.

South Dakota Mines 
The Vikings captured the 25-21, 23-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-7, victory in a five set nail-biter over the Hardrockers to earn their first win of the classic. 

The Vikings came out swinging in set one with a monumental kill by senior Kia Kriener to set the tone for the match to come. Augustana would cruise through set one with a 7-0 run to gain the advantage quickly over the Hardrockers. Augustana had an edge behind the service line with two aces alone in set one. Senior Kate Reiman brought the energy to the Vikings with a sharp shooter kill to seal the deal and take home their first set win of the tournament.

The Hardrockers reigned in sets two and three, overpowering the Vikings. Senior Maddy Guetter kept Augustana within inches during both sets with seven combined kills and three service aces to stay on SD Mines' heels. A final kill from the Hardrockers Paisley Gibson brought home their last set win of the match.  

Set four was a different story for Augustana. The Vikings proved to be too much for SD Mines as junior Jolie Stecher and senior Avery Thorson brought down the house with a block assist to bring the Hardrockers to a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Vikings had complete control of the set with savage kills from Guetter and Reiman to set the tone for the rest of the set. A long rally brought the Vikings to match point and sealed the deal with an attack error from SD Mines to take set four.

The VIkings came into set five firing on all cylinders. Reimann and Guetter led the team in kills with three a piece proving their dominance at the net over the Lady Hardrockers.  The Vikings reigned in both set and match point with a high power kill from Guetter to ignite Augustana into their first match win of the weekend. 

Overall, Augustana recorded 69 kills and had six aces compared to the Hardrockers 55 kills and five aces. Guetter had 16 kills and five aces tying the game-high with 22 points. Reimann would finish with a match-high of 19 kills to end the first match of the classic for the Vikings. 

MSU Moorhead
The Vikings captured the 25-12, 25-14, 25-16, victory in three-sets over the Dragons to earn their second win of the classic. 

Augustana established dominance early in the first set going on a 3-0 run to set the tone for the match to come. The Vikings came out hot with an immediate service ace from Thorson followed by a blazing kill from senior Piper Asche on the outside. The service line was at the Vikings dispense with three aces alone in set one. A mid-set 7-1 run allowed Augustana to run home with set one completed by a Dragon attack error. 

Set two was opened with a kill from Kriener that sent Augustana into a scoring frenzy. The Vikings were hitting a dominant .393 in set two compared to the Dragons .200 with 16 total kills. Errors from the Dragons had spread the scoring gap mid set to establish an eight-point Vikings lead. A monster kill from Guetter followed by an ace by Reiman captured set two.   

A cruise to the finish line began for the Vikings in set three carrying on the victory from set two. With a slow start, Augustana was able to pick up momentum from a mid-set explosive kill from Reimann to send MSU Moorhead into a timeout. A sneaky skip-set attack by Thorson kept an edge to the Vikings as they rallied home set three finished by stealth back to back aces by Kriener. 

Overall, Augustana recorded 48 kills and had 12 aces compared to the Dragons 20 kills and two aces. Reimann had 13 kills and two aces with Guetter rallying in 12 kills, three aces, and the game-high of 16 points. 

On the defensive side, senior libero Erika Bute reigned in three aces and 15 digs to win the second match. 

Up Next
The Vikings will finish up the Augustana Volleyball Classic against Truman State at 1:30 p.m. and NSIC opponent Northern State at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. For more information on the classic click here. 

–GoAugie.com–