SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Augustana volleyball team (11-15 overall, 8-9 NSIC) concludes the regular season on Friday night, hosting No. 9-ranked St. Cloud State at 6 p.m.

The Augustana community is invited to the Beer Garden — hosted by JJ's Wine, Spirits & Cigars — at the Elmen Center for Tuesday's game. Food, such as pulled pork nachos and corn dogs, will be available for purchase in the concession area next to the Beer Garden. 

Complete action can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app, presented by The Original Pancake House. The app can be downloaded in the App Store or Google Play.

The Huskies
St. Cloud State enters the weekend 19-6 overall and 12-4 in conference action following sweeps of UMary and Minot State. The Huskies rank ninth in the latest AVCA poll, earning 753 points. NSIC Offensive Player of the Year Kenzie Foley ranks second in the country with 4.86 kills per set and 5.51 points per set. Emma Berran ranks eighth in the country with 11.26 assists per set, and the attack, as a whole, ranks eighth with 14.26 kills per set. 

The Vikings
Augustana comes into Friday after a reverse sweep of Bemidji State and sweep over Minnesota Crookston. 

On Thursday afternoon, Erika Bute was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Libero of the Year for the second year in a row, while joining Kia Kriener as a first team all-conference honoree. 

Bute, from Alden, Minnesota, has recorded 381 digs this season in conference play, the most in the NSIC. Bute also leads the NSIC in digs per set with 6.05. The all-conference honor is Bute's fourth all-NSIC honor after achieving first-team honors in 2022 and second-team honors in 2019 and 2021. 

She currently has 2,242 digs in her career over the course of 432 sets. She ranks second in program history in digs, while also ranking second with 5.19 digs per set. Her 2,242 digs is third amongst active career leaders in all of DII, and 11th across all levels. 

Bute becomes the second Viking to earn NSIC Libero of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons, joining Tahlyr Banks who did the same in 2016 and 2017. 

Kriener earned her first NSIC honors after earning a spot on the NSIC All-Conference first team. Hailing from Okoboji, Iowa, she has collected 241 total kills in NSIC action and averages 3.95 kills per set, both good for second in the conference. She has also performed well defensively of late, tallying double-digit digs in four of her last seven games. 

Kriener knocked down a career-best 21 kills on Oct. 3 at SMSU, and has 682 kills and 378 digs in her career.

On the season, Kriener leads the Vikings with 362 kills, while Maya Wente follows with 220 kills and leads the team with 90 blocks. Erika Bute leads the team with 564 digs, including 5.70 digs per set. Reagan Jansen has been a force all over the court, tallying 214 kills and 196 digs. Callie Hohenhaus has had a strong senior campaign, racking up 203 kills and 88 blocks.

Lucy Bartee has put together an all-around contribution, adding 1,033 assists, 220 digs, 54 kills, 35 blocks, and 26 aces. Kiylah Franke has produced on the back line, collecting 234 digs and 26 aces. 

Looking Ahead
The Vikings currently sit outside the top eight of the NSIC, but still have a chance of making the NSIC Tournament.