MOORHEAD, Minn. – Augustana volleyball bounced back and claimed the last two sets of the night en route to a thrilling five-set road victory over MSU Moorhead on Saturday night with scores of 19-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-16, 15-12.
The two-win weekend moved the Vikings to 15-8 overall so far this season with a 9-6 record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference while the Dragons drop to 11-13 and 4-11.
Maya Wente led AU with 16 kills while hitting .593 and adding four blocks as
Kiylah Franke recorded 55 assists, 14 digs and two kills.
Julia Blom collected a team-high 16 digs and
Jazmen Kutey finished with a season-high 12 kills on a .435 hitting percentage and a team-best six blocks.
As a squad, Augustana Vikings hit .275 with 71 kills and 13 total blocks, while MSU Moorhead hit .168 with 58 kills and nine total blocks. AU also led in blocks (13-9) and assists (61-55) while the visitors lead in digs (71-64).
Augustana answered MSUM's first two points with kills by Wente and
Lucy Belisle to tie the opening set at 2-2, but the home team stayed in front through the early exchanges. The Dragons pushed the margin from 12-10 to 16-10 with four straight points before going ahead at 20-13. AU then put together four straight service points behind
Lucy Cogan's serve, getting kills from
Reagan Jansen, Wente and Cogan to close within 20-17. MSU Moorhead stopped the run and used its offense attack to take the 25-19 win.
The Vikings built a 6-2 lead in the second set behind two Belisle kills, a
Gabby Jones ace and a block involving
Abby Gruber and Belisle, but MSU Moorhead answered to tie it at 6-6. MSUM later moved ahead 12-8 before Augustana scored five straight, including three
Sydney Tims kills and a Wente-Jansen block, to go back in front 13-12. The set stayed tight through 20-20, with Kutey's kill pulling AU even after MSU Moorhead had taken a 20-19 edge. AU followed with three straight points for a 23-20 lead, reached set point on another Kutey kill and closed the set 25-21 on a Wente-Jansen block.
MSU Moorhead opened the third set with four straight points before Augustana worked back within 10-8 on a Tims kill and two attack errors. The Dragons pushed the margin to 15-9, but AU won seven of the next eight rallies—with Wente recording four kills during the stretch—to pull even at 16-16. The teams traded points from there, with Belisle kills helping the Vikings tie the set again at 18-18 and 20-20. MSU Moorhead moved ahead 23-20 and, after Augustana closed within 24-22 on a Jansen kill, finished the set for a 25-22 win.
After MSUM trimmed AU's early lead to 4-2, Jansen's kill started an eight-point Augustana run that included a Cogan service ace, kills by Tims and Wente, and a block by Wente and Jansen for a 12-2 lead. MSU Moorhead answered with consecutive kills to make it 12-4, but Tims responded with a kill and the Vikings added a block by Wente and Franke plus kills from Wente and Jansen to reach 16-4. The teams exchanged points through the middle of the set, with Jansen, Kutey and Wente supplying kills as AU moved ahead 22-11. Augustana reached set point at 24-13 on an MSU Moorhead attack error, and after the Dragons scored three straight, Belisle closed the 25-16 set with a kill from Franke.
After Belisle's opening kill helped the Vikings build a 4-2 lead, MSU Moorhead scored five straight points to move ahead 7-4. AU answered with a four-point push for an 8-7 lead, including a Wente kill, and after the set moved through ties at 9-9, 10-10 and 11-11, a Dragon service error and a Tims kill gave Augustana a 13-11 edge. A block by Belisle and Kutey made it 14-11, and despite the home team pulling within 14-13, Kutey finished a Franke set for the 15-13 fifth-set win.
UP NEXT
Augustana returns home to host Sioux Falls on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6 p.m. inside the Elmen Center.
--GoAugie.com--
