SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana volleyball bounced back from a five-set heartbreaker on Tuesday to take down the Minnesota State Mavericks on Friday evening inside the Elmen Center, 23-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-18.
Maya Wente finished with 17 kills on a .552 hitting percentage and added four blocks while
Reagan Jansen recorded 15 kills, 12 digs and three service aces.
Kiylah Franke tallied 51 assists and nine digs and
Jazmen Kutey collected five blocks and added nine kills while hitting .400.
As a team, the Vikings hit .342 with 68 kills and 10 service aces, while the Mavericks hit .295 with 58 kills. Augustana also led in aces (10-6), blocks (9-6) and assists (60-57) while trailing in digs (69-58).
AU built a 6-3 lead in the opening set behind two kills apiece from Jansen and Wente. The Mavericks answered with five straight points to move in front 8-6, before
Lucy Belisle and Jansen helped Augustana tie the set at 9-9. MSU stayed ahead through the middle of the set, but the Vikings kept cutting the margin to one, including at 18-17 after back-to-back Mavericks attack errors and again at 22-21 on a service error. After Minnesota State reached set point at 24-21, Belisle and
Abby Gruber delivered consecutive kills to pull AU within 24-23, but the visitors closed the set at 25-23.
The Mavericks built a 5-0 lead early in the second set but Augustana answered with kills from Belisle,
Sydney Tims and Jansen before an
Alexis Nelson ace tied the set at 5-5. After the visitors jumped back in front 6-5, the Vikings scored the next five points, getting a Gruber kill, a Tims-Wente block, kills from Wente and Tims and a
Lucy Cogan ace to move ahead 10-6. The Mavericks later cut the margin to 16-15, but AU held the lead and pushed it to 21-17 on a
Julia Blom ace and a Jansen kill. Minnesota State tied the set at 21-21, but Augustana closed with a Jansen kill, a Wente kill, a visitor attack error and a Jansen ace to take the set 25-21.
Gruber recorded two early kills for AU, but the Mavericks created separation with three straight kills during a run to 5-2 and later stretched the lead to 13-7. The Vikings worked back into the set behind a Kutey block, kills from Tims, Wente and Kutey, and an
Alexis Nelson ace that made it 19-17. After Minnesota State pushed back ahead 22-19, Jansen's kill, Belisle's kill and Jansen's ace tied the set at 22-22, and Wente later answered to make it 23-23. The Mavericks reached set point at 24-23, but Kutey tied it with a kill, added a block for a 25-24 Augustana lead, and Belisle finished the 26-24 set win off a
Gabby Jones assist.
The fourth set stayed close early until the Mavericks moved ahead 11-8. Augustana worked back with two block points, a Tims kill and consecutive Cogan aces, the second of which put the Vikings in front 13-12. It wasn't long before Wente kills helped AU reach 17-14 after Jansen's ace. MSU cut the score to 20-18, but Belisle answered with a kill and Nelson served out the final four points. Kutey added a kill and combined with Jansen on a block before Jansen delivered the last two kills for a 25-18 set win.
UP NEXT
Augustana volleyball closes out its home slate of the 2026 regular season as it hosts St. Cloud State on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 1 p.m.
--GoAugie.com--
