CROOKSTON, Minn. – Augustana volleyball grabbed its fifth-straight win in fast fashion as the Vikings swept Minnesota Crookston in straight sets Friday night on the road, 25-15, 25-15, 25-18.
Kiylah Franke led AU with 39 assists and added two service aces.
Reagan Jansen recorded a team-high 11 kills, eight digs, one ace and a block assist as
Maya Wente finished with 10 kills on 14 attacks while hitting .643 and
Gabby Jones collected a team-best 14 digs, two assists and a service ace.
As a team, the Vikings hit .359 with 45 kills while holding the Golden Eagles to .110 and 24 kills. The visitors also held the lead in assists (45-21) and digs (45-23) while tying in aces (6-6) and sitting behind in blocks (4-3)
Augustana moved in front early as Jansen served an ace for a 2-1 lead, and kills by
Lucy Belisle,
Abby Gruber and
Kelby Opland helped push the advantage to 10-6. The home team got back to 10-8 but Wente answered with a kill before AU later extended the lead to 18-11 on Opland's kill and a Jansen-Gruber block. After Minnesota Crookston scored twice to reach 18-13, Gruber and Jansen put down kills for 20-13. The Vikings closed with kills by Wente,
Maddie Muellner and Belisle around a service error to take the set 25-15.
In the second set, AU erased an early 2-1 deficit with a 5-1 stretch, getting kills from Wente and a Jones ace before moving ahead 6-3 on Wente's second kill of the set. The Golden Eagles answered with three straight service aces to tie it at 8-8, but a service error put AU back in front, and kills by Wente and Jansen helped push the lead to 14-10. The Vikings continued to trade points while staying ahead, reaching 18-13 on a Gruber kill before the home team got one back. From there, Augustana won seven of the final eight rallies, using back-to-back
Lucy Cogan aces and late kills from Opland, Franke,
Sylvia Taylor and Wente to close the set 25-15.
After Minnesota Crookston moved in front 4-2, AU pulled even at 4-4 on
Jazmen Kutey's kill. The home team briefly retook a 5-4 lead but a Jansen kill, a UMC attack error and Franke's ace put Augustana ahead 7-5. The Vikings pushed the lead to 10-7 on
Shelby Barwick's kill, and after the Golden Eagles closed to 12-11, Jansen answered with a kill before Kutey added a kill and a block to make it 16-12. Minnesota Crookston got back within 17-15, but a service error and another Jansen kill helped AU restore a 19-15 lead. Augustana led 22-17 after Jansen's kill, reached set point on an opponent attack error and finished the set 25-18 on a
Karalynn Leach rocket from
Clara Hoegh.
UP NEXT
The road trip continues for Augustana as the Vikings visit MSU Moorhead on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. match.
--GoAugie.com--
