ST. PAUL, Minn. – Despite the late rally attempt from the Viking volleyball squad, Augustana dropped in four sets to No. 8 Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday evening, 14-25, 17-25, 25-23, 22-25 inside the Gangelhoff Center.
AU concludes the 2026 regular season with an 18-10 overall record alongside a 12-8 showing in the NSIC while the Bears finished 22-6 and 17-3.
Maya Wente led AU with 15 kills while hitting .609 as
Kiylah Franke—who eclipsed the 2000 career assist mark during the match—finished with 37 assists, five digs and a solo block.
Jazmen Kutey posted a team-high five total blocks and added five kills while
Lucy Belisle contributed 11 kills and one block assist.
As a team, the Vikings finished with 46 kills and a .170 hitting percentage, while Concordia-St. Paul totaled 64 kills and hit .358. AU trailed CSP in kills (64-46), aces (6-5), blocks (8-6), assists (62-42) and digs (68-50).
First set action saw Augustana answer an early 3-0 Concordia-St. Paul start with kills from Belisle,
Abby Gruber,
Reagan Jansen and Wente to stay within 8-7. CSP created separation with six straight points to move ahead 14-7 and, after an AU sideout, added five more points in a row to stretch the margin to 19-8. Wente and Belisle put down late kills for the Vikings, but the set finished at 25-14.
Back-to-back kills by
Sydney Tims moved Augustana ahead 3-1 to start the second set, but the Bears kept the set tight and tied it at 5-5, 7-7 and 8-8. After a long sideout stretch and Wente's kill, a Kutey kill and block helped AU build a 16-13 lead before Concordia-St. Paul answered with 10 straight points to move in front 23-16. Belisle stopped the run with a kill, but two kills secured Concordia-St. Paul's 25-17 win.
CSP moved ahead 7-5 on consecutive service aces and a block, but kills by Belisle and Jansen pulled Augustana even before Wente later tied the third set at 8-8. Concordia-St. Paul moved back in front 20-17 behind late kills but Kutey's kill gave AU the serve and Franke's rotation produced five straight service points for a 23-20 lead. That run included two assisted blocks by Tims and Kutey and a solo block by Kutey before Concordia-St. Paul got back within 24-23. Tims finished the set with a kill from Franke, giving the Vikings a 25-23 win.
Augustana erased an early 3-0 deficit with a Kutey kill, a Concordia-St. Paul attack error and a Wente kill, then later moved in front 6-5 on a
Julia Blom service ace. Concordia-St. Paul answered after AU led 10-8, scoring the next eight points to take a 16-10 lead before stretching the margin to 21-14. The Vikings soon pushed back with a Franke block, kills from Jansen and Wente, and later a Jansen kill that cut the deficit to 23-21. Despite an opponent error that gave the Vikings an extra chance, the Bears ended the set at 25-22.
UP NEXT
Augustana volleyball awaits its placement in the upcoming 2026 NSIC Volleyball Tournament where the Vikings will compete in post-season play for the first time since 2022.
--GoAugie.com--
