SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Augustana lost its Thursday evening match 3-1 to Wayne St. 25-18, 14-25, 21-25 and 17-25 inside the Elmen Center, moving to 8-5 on the year and 2-3 in conference play.
The Vikings finished with 57 kills and a .216 hitting percentage, matching WSC's kill total but not its .285 hitting mark.
Reagan Jansen led the home team with a season-high 19 kills off a season-high .472 hitting clip while adding in 19 digs and one ace.
Lucy Belisle followed with 12 kills and
Maya Wente added in seven with three total blocks as
Kiylah Franke dished 33 assists and
Alexis Nelson tallied 12 digs.
After Wayne State struck first, Augustana answered with kills by
Kelby Opland and
Abby Gruber to move ahead 2-1 as the opening set stayed tight through a 9-9 tie. Jansen's kill started a three-point AU stretch to 12-9 and, after the Wildcats got back within 14-12, Belisle had a kill, a block and another kill as Augustana moved ahead 17-12.
WSC cut the margin to 17-14 but Wente put down back-to-back rockets to push AU to 19-14. After the Wildcats reached 20-17, Augustana used kills from Gruber, Opland, Jansen and Opland to reach 24-17 before a service error closed the set at 25-18.
Augustana was put in an early 4-0 deficit before Belisle stopped the run with a kill. Wente, Jansen and Gruber produced kills while AU trimmed the score as close as 10-6 and later made it 13-8, but the Wildcats followed with six straight points to move ahead 19-8.
Sydney Tims and Belisle added late kills and, after WSC reached 24-11, Augustana took three straight on a Wildcat attack error, a Jansen kill and a service ace before a kill from the visitors closed the set 25-14.
In the third set, AU trailed 7-4 before scoring five of the next six points—with Jansen supplying two kills—to move in front 9-8. The teams traded momentum through the middle of the set, and Augustana built a 13-11 edge on Jansen's service ace before Wayne State answered to go ahead 16-15. After the Wildcats stretched the margin to 20-17, Gruber and Jansen put down consecutive kills to help AU tie the set yet again at 20-20. WSC scored three straight points from there and, after Gruber's kill made it 23-21, closed the set 25-21.
The Vikings started the fourth set with a Jansen kill and later went ahead 4-2 on consecutive Opland kills, but WSC pulled even at 4-4 and moved in front 7-5. AU stayed within 11-9 after a Gruber kill and another Opland finish before the Wildcats scored five straight points to build a 16-9 lead. Augustana answered with kills from Opland and Belisle, but WSC later put together another five-point stretch to go ahead 22-12. Belisle, Wente and Jansen each had late kills as AU cut the score to 23-17, but the Wildcats took the final two points to close the set 25-17.
Up Next
The Vikings volleyball team visits Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday, Sept. 26 for a 2 p.m. match.
--GoAugie.com--
