SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The 2024 Viking volleyball campaign started hot on Thursday with a three-set sweep of South Dakota Mines (25-22, 28-26, 25-16) in the opening day of the Augustana Classic at the Sanford Pentagon.
 
Brooke Berens, Kiylah Franke and Reagan Jansen led the offensive attack for the Vikings, tallying 10 kills apiece out of the team's 49 total. Lucy Bartee dished out 40 assists in addition to her 10 digs as Ellie Walker served three aces.
 
Sydney Tims registered five total blocks, including two solo, while Gabby Jones logged 12 digs and five assists.
 
Augustana held the advantage in hitting percentage, attacking at a clip of .381 compared to the Hardrockers' .256. The Vikings also tallied more digs (55) and kills (49) than their opponent.
 
The first set started tight, with the teams having tied up six separate times by the time the score was 8-8. Augustana then gained momentum and created some distance thanks to back-to-back-to-back kills from Franke and Tims to make it a 16-11 lead. The Hardrockers pieced together a 7-2 run to close the gap and push the score to 20-19, but the Viking attack remained strong to close the set 25-22.
 
South Dakota Mines fought back and took the first four points of the second set, which gave enough room for the Hardrockers to hold onto the lead for a majority of the set. Augustana slowly crept back, keeping it close and forcing back-to-back errors to tie the game up at 19 apiece. The two teams tied three more times before the Vikings took their first lead of the set at 23-22. The ties continued until a Jansen kill and a Walker ace ended it at 28-26.
 
Strong front row attacking from the Vikings helped open the third set dominantly with a score of 10-4. The Hardrockers went on a 4-1 run in an effort to fight back, but they would get no closer. 25 kills were tallied in the third set alone for Augustana which, combined with hot serving from the Vikings, helped blow open the door for a 25-16 third set to secure the victory.
 
Augustana will return to action on Friday with two matches as the team faces Northern State at 1:30 p.m. and Northwest Missouri State at 6 p.m.