DULUTH, Minn. - Piper Asche pushed an attack behind the defense and into the back corner to close out a 26-24, 25-23, 21-25, 16-25, 15-12 victory for Augustana over the No. 10-ranked Minnesota Duluth on Friday night.

The win is the first top-10 road victory for the Vikings since Nov. 15, 2017, when they topped then-No. 9 Northern State, and is the first ranked road win since defeating the then-No. 16 ranked Bulldogs in September of 2021. 

"I'm proud of the way the team showed up tonight for such an important road match." said head coach Jennifer Jacobs. "We have everything we need, and it shows when we execute and believe."

The Vikings improve to 5-7 overall and 2-2 in NSIC play, while the Bulldogs move to 10-3 overall and 3-2 NSIC. 

The Vikings set the tone at the net in the early going, picking up three kills and a block as part of a 5-2 run to open the match. The Bulldogs came back to take their first lead of the set at 7-6, eventually holding a one-point lead at 10-9. Three consecutive points by the Vikings followed to allow AU to reclaim the lead at 12-10, punctuated by a Kia Kriener kill. 

UMD crept back in, tying the set at 14-14, but two kills and a service ace from Reagan Jansen, and two kills from Maya Wente helped in a 6-2 run to ease the Vikings ahead 20-16. With AU leading 22-18, The Bulldogs stormed back to claim a 24-23 lead and force a set point, but a Wente kill, UMD attack error, and Kiylah Franke ace drove the Vikings to a 26-24 victory and give them set one. 

To open set two, the Vikings fired on all cylinders, racing to a 9-3 lead early. They would lead by at least three points from there until an attack error brought UMD within a pair at 18-16. The Vikings scored three of the next four points to grow its lead to 21-17 before inching ahead 24-19. A scorching Bulldogs attack scored the next four points to apply pressure, but an attack error ended the comeback hope and gave the Vikings a 2-0 lead. 

UMD opened set three with a 3-0 lead thanks to a trio of Viking errors. AU marched back, tying the match at 7-7 before seeing ties at 8-8, 9-9, and 10-10. The Vikings ended the streak of tied scores with a 3-0 run, but a 3-0 Bulldog run followed to even the match at 13-13. The see-saw battle continued, as ties of 14-14, 15-15, 16-16, 17-17, 18-18, and 19-19 followed. A 5-1 UMD run put them in the driver's seat, giving them the separation to win set three and keep the match alive. 

The Vikings took a 2-1 lead to open set four, but it was all Bulldogs from that point on. They scored the next five points and led the rest of the set to force a fifth set. 

A 4-1 run to open the fifth put the Vikings in command, as a Jansen ace, Kriener kill, and a pair of UMD errors helped fuel the run. The three point lead reached 8-5, but a 3-0 Bulldog run was enough to tie the set at 8-8. After UMD tied the match at 9-9, Jansen went to work, delivering a kill before consecutive aces gave AU a 12-9 lead. With a 14-12 lead, the Vikings capitalized on a poor reception off a Lucy Bartee serve, as Piper Asche dissected the defense with an attack into the back corner to secure the victory.  

Kriener closed the match as the leader in kills with 17, adding three blocks. Callie Hohenhaus was a force at the net, recording 11 kills and seven blocks, and Wente added 13 kills and three blocks. 

Jansen finished the night with 10 kills, 14 digs, five aces, and three blocks en route to Player of the Match honors, and Asche had eight kills and just one error to boost the offense. Erika Bute did her thing defensively, recording 27 digs, and Bartee had 54 assists and a huge solo block to fuel the Vikings. 

AU continues its road trip on Saturday, taking on St. Cloud State at 2 p.m.