SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The Augustana volleyball team defeated the Golden Eagles of Minnesota Crookston in three sets (25-17, 25-19, 25-18) in the Elmen Center on Friday night.
The Vikings move to an 11-4 record with a 3-4 record in NSIC play. The Golden Eagles have fall to a 2-13 record and are 1-6 in the loop.
Augustana opened set one with a monster kill by senior Maddy Guetter, setting her dominance for the match to come. The Vikings took their strides early in the set taking advantage of the Golden Eagles attack errors to pull ahead with a 6-2 run. Augustana dominated both sides of the net in kills overpowering the Golden Eagles 9 kills with AU's 15 in set one alone. A final kill by senior setter Avery Thorson and a Golden Eagle attack error reign in set one for the mighty Vikings.
The Vikings kept the momentum rolling into set two taking advantage of the service line to give an edge to AU's offense. Senior Jolie Stecher had a pair of back-to-back aces to add to the four aces the Vikings had in set two and the total eight aces they had on the night. Adding on to Stecher's aces were Guetter and senior Kia Kriener who had one apiece to propel Augustana to their second set win of the match.
Set three was a back-and-forth brawl where Augustana came out victorious. Senior Kate Reiman made her presence known, firing home 5 kills, hitting an awestrucking .558, and adding five points in set three. Reimann was joined by her team hitting an efficient .344 compared to the Golden Eagles .184 attack percentage proving their dominance at the net. Guetter reigned home set and match point with a final Viking ace.
Overall, Augustana recorded 43 kills and had eight aces compared to the Golden Eagles 27 kills and five aces. Guetter led the way for the Vikings with 12 kills, four aces and 16.5 points leading the Vikings across the board. Reimann was at Guetters heels with 11 kills and one ace while adding 12.5 points to aid Augustana's offense.
On the defensive side, Bute reigned in 28 digs with a perfect 1.000 reception on the night. Kriener and senior Piper Asche added a solo block apiece on their own protecting the Vikings court.
Quotable
"We're glad to be back home and get the win tonight," said head coach Jen Jacobs. "Looking forward to tomorrow."
Up Next
The Vikings host the Beavers of Bemidji State Saturday evening at 5 p.m in the Elmen Center.
--GoAugie.com--
