SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Augustana Vikings fell 25-22, 23-25, 26-24, 25-19 at the hands of Northern State on Saturday afternoon inside the Elmen Center.

The Vikings fall to 9-14 overall and 6-8 in NSIC play, while the Wolves jump to 17-6 overall, 9-5 NSIC. 

Erika Bute headlined the defense with 38 digs, while Kiylah Franke added 11 and Lucy Bartee tallied 10. Bartee also picked up 41 assists and a pair of blocks. Kia Kriener led the offense with 17 kills while adding nine digs and three blocks, and Reagan Jansen followed with 25 kills, five digs, and three blocks. Callie Hohenhaus led the front line with seven blocks. 

After a 5-3 start for the Vikings, NSU struck for seven of 10 points to take a 10-6 lead. The Vikings fired back with a 6-0 run, led by a block from Piper Asche and Wente and a kill by Asche, to take a 12-10 lead. 

The Vikings led by two, again, at 17-15, but a 3-0 Wolves run gave them an 18-17 advantage. Then, Hohenhaus and Jansen fueled a 3-0 AU run, each recording a kill and combining on a block to reclaim the lead at 20-18. From there, NSU closed the set, scoring seven of the final nine points to take set one. 

Set two opened with each team trading mini runs en route to a 7-5 lead for the Wolves. The lead slowly increased to 11-7, but the Vikings bounced back, with an NSU service error opening a 5-1 run that helped them tie the match at 12-12. The Wolves reclaimed the lead at 16-14 before a 4-0 spurt gave AU an 18-16 advantage. The final 14 points would end up split down the middle, allowing the Vikings to tie the match at 1-1. 

Three kills and two blocks helped push the Vikings to a 7-3 lead to open the third set. After a pair of NSU points, AU added a 6-1 run, capped by a Jansen kill, to grow its lead to 13-6. A 6-0 flurry helped get the Wolves back within one before chipping away to tie the match at 18-18. Six of the next eight points went in favor of the Vikings to give them a set points at 24-20, but one final 6-0 NSU run gave them a 2-1 lead. 

12 of 20 points to open set four went to the Vikings, closed out by a Wente kill, Kriener kill, and Jansen ace. Their lead increased to 18-13 as they looked to force a fifth set, but a 12-1 run by the Wolves closed the match. 

The Vikings look to bounce back Tuesday, as they host Sioux Falls at 6 p.m., inside the Elmen Center.