MARSHALL, Minn. – Augustana volleyball fell to Southwest Minnesota State 3-0 on Saturday afternoon, falling by set scores of 13-25, 25-27 and 27-29. AU cut an 18-9 deficit to 21-19 in the third set before the final set ended 29-27.
Lucy Belisle led the Vikings with nine kills and added one block assist.
Maya Wente finished with eight kills while hitting .300 and recorded two solo blocks for 10 points.
Kiylah Franke posted 28 assists, eight digs and one solo block.
Alexis Nelson collected 13 digs and added a kill.
Augustana recovered from a 4-1 deficit in the opening set, using a
Kelby Opland kill, Wente's block on a Natalie Pilney attack and a Southwest Minnesota State attack error to pull even at 4-4. Southwest Minnesota State answered by moving from the tie to a 9-4 lead, with Leah Jones' kill, back-to-back Pilney service aces and a block by Lindsay Kruse and Jones part of the stretch, and later pushed the set to 16-7 before
Sydney Tims and
Reagan Jansen helped AU close to 16-10. The home side created another separation with a five-point run to 22-10 that included a Mollie Rupp kill and consecutive Pilney kills.
Abby Gruber and Wente added late kills for Augustana, but Jones closed the set for the Mustangs at 25-13.
Augustana built a 4-1 lead in the second set behind a Wente kill and Southwest Minnesota State attack errors, but Southwest Minnesota State answered to move in front 5-4 before Belisle tied it with a kill. The teams traded narrow leads through the middle of the set, with Belisle and Tims helping AU regain edges before Southwest Minnesota State pulled even at 17-17 and moved ahead 19-18 on a Tatem Schmidt service ace. Augustana continued to answer late, getting kills from Wente, Belisle, and Gruber to stay within one-point exchanges, and Gruber tied the set at 24-24 after Southwest Minnesota State reached set point on a Paige Steinmetz ace. Gruber added another kill to make it 25-25, but Ashley Peltier followed with a kill and Southwest Minnesota State closed the set on a block for a 27-25 win.
After a 4-4 tie on
Julia Blom's service ace, Southwest Minnesota State built an 18-9 lead, with Tatem Schmidt serving through the final five points of that stretch. AU cut into the margin with kills by Wente and Franke and a Jansen ace, then used a Belisle kill to get Franke to the service line before five straight points made it 21-20. The set tightened from there, with Belisle and Jansen keeping the Vikings within one before Jansen's kill tied it at 23-23 and consecutive Southwest Minnesota State attack errors put Augustana ahead 25-24. The teams traded points to 27-27, but Southwest Minnesota State closed the set 29-27 on a Leah Jones kill and an AU attack error.
Up Next
The Vikings visit cross-town foes Sioux Falls on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 6 p.m.
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