HAYS, Kan. – The Augustana volleyball team moved to 4-2 on the season after splitting a pair of games on Thursday afternoon. The Vikings beat Northwestern Oklahoma State (1-5) 3-1 before dropping a match to Fort Hays State (5-1) in four.

Northwestern Oklahoma State
The Vikings knocked off the Rangers in four sets, 25-16, 26-28, 25-20, 25-17 to kick off the day. 

Reagan Jansen secured 18 kills with a hitting percentage of .324 to lead the Viking offense. Maya Wente, Lucy Belisle and Sydney Tims also added double-digit kills. Wente led Augustana with four blocks while Tims had the team's highest hitting percentage of .391. 

Kiylah Franke opened up the day with 52 assists while she added 12 digs. Gabby Jones joined Franke with 12 digs. Augustana totaled 84 points in total. 

Augustana outhit the Rangers .272 to ,144 while having 68 kills to the NWOSU's 39. AU held a 8-4 advantage in aces, 59-36 edge in assists and a 73-61 advantage in digs. 

The Vikings opened up with a 3-1 lead in the early moments of the first set before Northwestern Oklahoma climbed back to even the odds at 4-4. AU went on a four-point run capped off by blocks from Franke and Wente. The match continued with an advantage for the Vikings as it pulled away with a set one win, 25-16. 

After taking an early advantage in set two, Northwestern Oklahoma evened the set at 16-16 during a four-point run. The Rangers remained in the driver's seat and kept their advantage with a string of one-point leads. Augustana climbed back in the late moments of the set and forced extras but the Rangers pulled away with a 28-26 set two win. 

The competition ensued in the third set as the two teams shared possession of the lead. After the match was square at 10-10, Augustana pulled away with a four-point run led by a kill from Jansen. The Vikings remained on top and pulled away with a set three win, 25-20. 

The Vikings fell early in the fourth set by a score of 6-1, but regained control to square the match at 14-14 with a kill from Belisle. Augustana shifted momentum with an eight-point run capped by a kill from Tims.  The Vikings' offensive power pulled them to victory, 25-17. 

Fort Hays State
The Vikings closed the day losing 25-17, 14-25, 25-21, 25-16 to the Tigers. 

Reagan Jansen continued her big start to the season with 12 kills while Lucy Belisle added 10 kills. Maya Wente had seven blocks and Sydney Tims added three blocks with seven kills. 

Kiylah Franke dished 37 assists and had seven digs while Clara Hoegh led the team with nine digs. Ellie Walker added eight digs for the backline. 

FHSU sprinted to a 5-1 lead in the first set before the Vikings chipped back within 9-7 after a Belisle kill. The Tigers scored eight of the next 11 points to go ahead 17-10. Augustana got within four after a 3-0 run but FHSU pulled away from there to take a 1-0 lead. 

After falling behind 6-5 in set two, the Viking attack marched forward. A Belisle kill ignited a 5-0 run to put the Vikings ahead 10-6. Tims had a kill and assisted Berens with a block following an FHSU kill before a Tims block and Berens kill after another Tiger point put them up 14-8. That lead shrunk to 16-12 before a 9-2 run closed the set and gave the Vikings a decisive victory in set two. 

Set three saw the Tigers lead 5-1 before the Vikings charged back, taking its first lead of the set at 8-7. A 14-11 FHSU lead was countered by a 7-2 run, capped by kills from Berens and Tims, to put the Vikings back in front 18-16. The Tigers took control from there, scoring nine of the final 12 points to take a 2-1 lead. 

Set three saw ties at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 7-7 and 8-8 before a 5-0 Tiger run gave them a 13-8 lead. The lead stayed around five points until it was 20-15 when FHSU scored five of the final six points to close the match and take a four set victory. 

The Vikings close their week on Friday, taking on New Mexico Highlands at 9 a.m., before closing the Tiger Classic with MSU Texas at 2 p.m.