BISMARCK, N.D. – In the first game of NSIC action, Augustana volleyball grabbed a three-set victory over University of Mary (25-21, 25-16, 25-20) in the McDowell Activity Center.

Augustana now holds a 5-4 record on the season, with a 1-0 record in the NSIC. 
 
Reagan Jansen, Brooke Berens and Maya Wente all dominated on the attack, with Jansen and Berens finishing with 11 kills each and Wente adding in 10. Berens also hit at a clip of .500 off of 20 total attacks. Lucy Bartee dished out 34 assists and Gabby Jones added four aces and 12 digs.
 
As a team, the Vikings tallied 43 kills with 43 assists, 46 digs, seven aces, and six total blocks.
 
Set one was a back-and-forth battle to open the night, as the Marauders and Vikings tied 11 times enroute to a 15-15 score. Then a run of four kills from Jansen, Wente, Bartee and Berens combined with an ace from Jones made it a 21-16 advantage for Augustana. UMary responded with three straight points but the Viking attack remained hot and ended the set 25-21 off a swing from Wente.
 
Augustana jumped out to a 13-5 lead in set two off of back-to-back kills from Jansen and Berens. Sydney Tims and Wente joined in on the attack until UMary fought back to tighten the score at 17-15. But the Vikings would only give up one more point the rest of the set. Hot swinging and an ace from Kiylah Franke created an 8-1 run that pushed the set's final score to 25-16.
 
The Marauders came out strong in the third, forcing a 7-2 advantage over the Vikings early on. And slowly but surely, Augustana clawed back. The game tied four times before AU took its first lead of the set at 13-12. A service ace from Ellie Walker made it a five-point lead and eventually grew to a seven-point lead until a swing with Berens ended it 25-20.
 
Augustana volleyball will hit the court again tomorrow in a match against Minot State, with the Saturday start time set for 11 a.m.