DENTON, Texas - The Augustana volleyball team collected its first win of the season on Thursday, opening the Denton Volleyfest with a 25-16, 25-19, 26-28, 13-25, 15-8 victory over Illinois Springfield.
The Vikings were a determined bunch out of the gate, going on a 7-0 run after splitting the first four points to take a 9-2 lead, forcing UIS to call both of their timeouts during the run. Augie went on to build their lead throughout the set, never leading by less than five, and leading by as many as 12 at 21-9 en route to an early lead.
The Augie attack was balanced throughout the dominant set, with seven different Vikings collecting kills, as Maya Wente led with three. Lucy Bartee assisted on 10 of the 12 Augie kills, and Erika Bute tallied 11 digs to set up the victory.
Set two was a see-saw battle, as neither team would pull ahead by more than three points until a Kiylah Franke ace put the Vikings ahead 20-16, part of a 9-2 run that helped the Vikings break through and take a 2-0 lead.
Kia Kriener was the catalyst for the second set offense, as her eight kills led the offense, part of an attack that delivered 15 kills while hitting .286 as a team.
Set three began similar to set two, with neither team able to create separation throughout. The Vikings saw their largest lead at 13-9 following a pair of Reagan Jansen kills and a Callie Hohenhaus kill capped a 5-1 run.
That was offset by a 10-3 run to put the Prairie Stars ahead 19-16 before a 7-1 Augie run brought them to the brink of victory at 23-20. UIS kept their game alive with a 5-1 run to lead 25-24, and after the Vikings reclaimed the lead at 26-25, the Prairie Stars closed the match with the final three points to trail 2-1.
UIS forced a fifth set with a dominant fourth set, scoring five of the first six points and leading by at least three points the rest of the way.
Augie opened the fifth set with three straight points, as Jansen and Piper Asche each recorded kills to make the jump. After a pair of Prairie Star points, the Vikings continued their surge, scoring eight of the next nine points to jump ahead 11-3, as a pair of Wente kills and Bute aces capped the run. After UIS was able to cut its deficit to 12-8, Kriener, Wente, and Bartee each tallied kills to close the match.
The Vikings had four with double-figure kills, with Kriener and Wente combining for 31 to lead the way, and Hohenhaus and Jansen recording 12 and 10 apiece. Bartee dished 51 assists to set up the attack, and Bute's 39 digs delivered defensively. Wente and Bartee each picked up four blocks to anchor the front line.
Augustana is back in action Friday, taking on Arkansas Monticello at 9 a.m.
-- GoAugie.com --
