MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Augustana Viking volleyball team held off a late rally from the home team to take down the MSU Moorhead Dragons in (25-12, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22) in the final regular season match of 2024.
 
The Vikings improve to 13-15 on the year with an even 9-9 conference showing while the Dragons fall to 9-17 overall and 4-14 in NSIC play.
 
Three Vikings finished with double digit kills, led by Maya Wente's 16 kills off a .361 hitting percentage. Lucy Belisle followed suit with 15 and a .355 clip as Brooke Berens attacked at a .476 hitting percentage for 11 kills.
 
Lucy Bartee dished out 47 assists to go with her eight digs as Sydney Tims served out four service aces. Defensively, Gabby Jones collected 14 digs and Berens and Wente each finished with two total blocks apiece.
 
A string of kills with an ace helped Augustana jump out to a 7-3 lead, which quickly blew into a later 10-3 run for the Vikings. Dragon errors, kills from Jansen and Wente and an ace from Tims pushed the lead to 19-9. MSUM logged two more kills but AU would end the set on a 6-1 run—featuring five kills from the sizzling front row attack—to dominantly take it 25-12.
 
The tides changed in the second set, as it was a mammoth back-and-forth battle throughout. Following five early ties, Augustana gained momentum and the 11-7 lead after a 5-1 run. Four kills and a block from the Dragons kept the game at a three points differential until the home team rattled off four straight points to tie it up at 16. Vikings errors slowly began to pile up but were quickly erased by four straight points to make it a 22-20 advantage. MSUM then stepped on the gas and scored the final five points of the set to take the second, 25-22.
 
That carried into the third, as the home team went up 5-3 early. Battle ensued as both teams clawed for the advantage. A 5-1 run from the Vikings with four kills made it a 14-12 game, but was soon erased when it tied up at 14-all. The game would tie three more times—finally at 18 apiece—until Augustana got hot. Belisle registered three kills during a fierce 7-0 from the Vikings to close set three 25-18.
 
An ace from Tims sealed the 6-1 start for Augustana in set four. The Dragon errors added up and, when paired with two blocks featuring Bartee, made it a 12-5 lead for the Vikings. A 4-1 run from MSUM closed the difference, but the two teams continued to trade kills. The home team called timeout once down 21-16 and responded with four straight points to climb back at 22-20. A kill from Wente ended the run and the hard-fought contest continued to the very end until the Vikings emerged victorious, 25-22.
 
The match concludes the 2024 regular season for the Vikings, who have now fallen out of NSIC tournament contention.