SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Augustana volleyball team fell to the Sioux Falls Cougars 24-26, 26-24, 25-15, 25-11 on Saturday afternoon inside the Stewart Center.

The loss brings the Vikings to 7-11 overall and 4-6 NSIC, while the Cougars move to 8-10 overall and 4-6 in conference action. 

The Cougars opened the match scoring 12 of the first 20 points, taking a 12-8 lead. The Vikings responded with a 6-2 run, punctuated by a Maya Wente kill to tie the match at 14-14 and force a USF timeout. 

After a Cougar point, AU rattled off four consecutive, capped by another emphatic  Wente kill, to jump ahead 18-15. The Cougars scored the next three points to tie the match at 18-18 before trading points to keep the tie at 20-20. USF scored the next three points, but the Vikings responded with three of their own to tie the match at 23-23. After each team traded a point, Piper Asche and Reagan Jansen hammered back-to-back kills to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. 

In set two, USF again raced ahead, this time at 6-2. Jansen took over the next four points, tallying two kills and a block to tie the match before a Wente kill put the Vikings up 7-6. That lead would stay at one until a Wente kill put AU ahead 14-12 and forced a Cougar timeout. A Jansen ace and Wente block later in the set put the Vikings ahead 19-15. USF came all the way back, chipping away before tying the match with a 26-24 win. 

The Vikings ran out to a 5-1 advantage to open set three before a 14-2 USF run gave them a 15-7 lead. AU scored a pair of points to cut its deficit to 15-9, but a 7-2 USF run gave them their largest lead of the match at 22-11. The Vikings ended up within 23-15, but the Cougars scored the final two points to take a 2-1 advantage. 

USF scored six of the first eight points of set three, but the Vikings charged back to tie the match at 9-9. The Cougars followed with a 10-1 avalanche to lead 19-10, and a 6-0 run to close the match. 

Jansen closed the match with a team-high 11 kills and three aces. Wente added nine kills and five blocks, and Kriener also tallied nine kills. Erika Bute picked up a match-high 17 digs, while Kiylah Franke added 11 digs.

The Vikings head north next weekend, starting in Bismarck, N.D., for a 6 p.m., matchup with UMary on Friday, Oct. 20.