SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the first time since 2022, Augustana volleyball will make a postseason appearance in the 2026 NSIC Volleyball Tournament after finishing the regular season with an 18-10 overall record and a 12-8 showing in conference play.
 
The Vikings will hold the No. 8 seed in the opening-quarterfinal action and are set to face the No. 1 seed Wayne State Wildcats. Action will kick off at 6 p.m. in Wayne, Neb.
 
THE SEASON
Augustana began the year in hot fashion as it won its first six games with five sweeps and one five-set victory. Despite a pair of setbacks during the home Augustana Volleyball Classic, the Vikings headed into conference play with a 6-2 overall record.
 
There were many program highlights during the conference slate as Maya Wente and Reagan Jansen each eclipsed the 1000-career-kill mark and Kiylah Franke hit 2000 career assists. The Vikings took then-No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul to five sets and later grabbed a reverse-sweep victory over inner-city rival Sioux Falls on the road.
 
Between Oct. 9 and 24, Augustana won six straight games over NSIC competition. That span included two sweeps—with one over then-No. 17 Minnesota Duluth—three four-set victories and one five-set win on the road. The Vikings also collected a trio of wins in the latter part of the season as they defeated Minnesota State, then-No. 13 St. Cloud State and Winona State.
 
Wente represented the Vikings on the NSIC Volleyball All-Conference Teams, earning First Team honors for her stunning senior season. Jansen leads AU with her 335 kills thus far off a .201 hitting percentage alongside a team-high 326 digs while Wente sits with 314 kills and a .364 clip with a team-high 87 total blocks and Franke enters the postseason with 1053 assists to her name in 2026.
 
AGAINST THE WILDCATS
During the 2026 season, the Vikings faced Wayne State just once as AU fell at home in four sets when the Wildcats were then-ranked the No. 2 team in the country. Augustana was hot early as it took the first set win, 25-18, but the visitors bounced back 25-14, 25-21, 25-17 in the next three sets to defeat the home team.
 
Jansen led the Vikings with her 19 kills as Lucy Belisle followed close behind with 12 kills and Kelby Opland added in another nine. Wente tallied three total blocks on the night while Franke dished 33 assists and Jansen hit double-double status with 19 digs.
 
UP NEXT
Should the Vikings defeat the Wildcats in the opening round of competition, Augustana will advance to the tournament semifinals to face the winner of No. 4 Northern State and No. 5 St. Cloud State with a location, date and time yet to be determined.