Match Stats
- #81 Augustana (South Dakota) def. #1 Minnesota-Duluth 3-1 (25-17, 25-21, 22-25, 15-14)
- Augustana goes to 20-4, 11-3 NSIC; Minnesota-Duluth falls to 21-1, 13-1 NSIC
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Augustana hosted)
The Augustana Vikings moved to 4-1 against AVCA top 5 teams this season and knocked Minnesota-Duluth from the ranks of unbeaten on Saturday. Minnesota-Duluth sat at 21-0 coming into the match, leaving them as the last-remaining Division II team in the season.
Now only 21-0 Calvin and 18-0 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in NCAA Division III volleyball; plus Westmont in California stand this season as undefeated college teams nationally.
Videos
Press Releases
Courtesy Augustana Athletics:
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The eighth-ranked Augustana volleyball team (20-4, 11-3 NSIC) earned one of the biggest victories in program history Saturday night. The Vikings defeated top-ranked and previously unbeaten, Minnesota Duluth 25-17, 25-21, 22-25, 25-14 Saturday afternoon to improve to 20-4 on the year.
The battle of top-10 teams saw Minnesota Duluth (21-1, 13-1 NSIC) get an early 2-1 advantage but Augustana quickly took their first lead of the day a 3-2. It was a lead the Vikings would not lose the rest of the set. After four straight points, the Vikings had an 11-6 lead. Augustana was able to get the lead to has much as nine before closing out the set 25-17.
With momentum carrying over from set one, the Vikings took an early 3-0 lead. Minnesota Duluth got back into the match earning their first tie of the set at 10-10. After the two teams traded points to an 11 tie, the Vikings were done playing games and scored four straight points to take a 15-11 lead. The Vikings didn’t allow the top-ranked Bulldogs to get within two the rest of the way, winning the set 25-21 and taking a decisive 2-0 lead in the match.
Set three was the lone blemish for Augustana. After earning the first three points of the set UMD scored 14 of the next 18 points taking a 12-7 lead. The Bulldogs held on for a 25-22 set three win.
Augustana came out for the fourth set on a mission to not let this match slip away. The Vikings dominated the set, exploding to a 16-5 lead. UMD made an attempt to get back into the match with three straight points midway through the set to cut Augustana’s lead to single digits but the Vikings were having none of it, as they closed out the set with a 25-14 win and took the match 3-1.
Viking of the Match
Bailey Koch was all over the court Saturday setting a career-high in the kills against No. 1 Minnesota Duluth with 16. Her previous high was 15 against Wayne State back in 2014. Koch also did it defensively with seven blocks and four digs. This was the fifth time this season Koch has tallied at least seven blocks in a match.
Viking Notables
• This is Augustana’s first win over the No. 1 team in the AVCA since Sept. 7, 2002 when they swept No. 1 West Texas A&M 30-26, 30-26, 34-32
• Anna Sykora set a career-high in assists with 57. Her previous high was 55 against Concordia-St. Paul earlier this year
• This is Augustana’s first 20-win season since 2013
• Augustana snaps their four match losing streak to UMD. They are now 10-32 all-time against the Bulldogs
• The Vikings improved to 4-1 against the AVCA Top-5 this season
• After moving to fifth on the all-time career digs list at Augustana last night, Tahlyr Banks leads the team with 26 digs against the Bulldogs
• With Augustana’s win over Duluth, there are no undefeated teams left in Division II
• Minnesota Duluth had a team hitting percentage of .303 this season and Augustana held them to a .210 average
• Five Vikings earned double-digit kills: Koch (16), Lauren Waite (13), Kelsey Kaufmann (12), Courtney Place (11), Brittany Cech (10)
• Cech earned a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs
Up Next
Augustana will be on the road next weekend as they travel to Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston.
Courtesy Minnesota-Duluth Athletics:
The University of Minnesota Duluth saw its undefeated season come to an end on Saturday afternoon in Sioux Falls, S.D. Facing a top 10 team for the second straight night, UMD came up short and dropped the match by a score of 3-1. The Bulldogs move to 21-1 (13-1 NSIC) while No. 8 Augustana improves to 20-4 (11-3 NSIC).
Senior outside hitter Taylor Wissbroecker led the way for UMD offensively, racking up 18 kills while hitting .459. Sophomore right side hitter Sarah Kelly put out an efficient 13 kills on 25 attacks, good for a .320 hit percentage. The Bulldogs were held to hitting just .210 as a team, while Augustana recorded the highest attack percentage against UMD this season (.325). Both teams ended with 10 blocks, while the Vikings held the advantage on total kills 65-55.
Augustana seemed to have a step on UMD for much of the match, including the first set where they outhit the Bulldogs .400 to .150. After the teams battled to an early 7-6 lead for the Vikings, UMD was unable to stick around when Augustana ran off seven of the next eight points. The Bulldogs would not get within six points the remainder of the set, facing a 1-0 deficit after the 25-17 Viking victory.
The second frame proved to be closer, however it was UMD who ended up on the wrong side again. The Bulldogs were not able to grab a lead at any point in the set. After Augustana extended its lead to 19-16, the teams alternated the next 11 points, resulting with a 25-21 set loss for UMD. The Bulldogs were able to improve on their attack percentage to .275 but were unable to handle Augustana’s effective offense (.333 hit percentage).
Now facing a 2-0 deficit, UMD took the court in the third set prepared to make a comeback. The Bulldogs took an early 12-7 lead before allowing Augustana to run off the next six points and grab the advantage. UMD took back the lead, and held off the Vikings for the remainder of the set, claiming a 25-22 victory following an Augustana attack error.
Augustana wanted no part of a tiebreaking fifth set, as they came out firing on all cylinders in the fourth. The Vikings jumped ahead 8-2 and wouldn’t let the Bulldogs inch much closer. After falling behind 20-8, UMD grabbed six of the next nine points in an effort to spark a comeback, but were unable to storm all the way back. Augustana eventually took the set and match by a score of 25-14, 3-1.
UMD will return to action against the University of Sioux Falls on Friday (Oct. 28) at Romano Gymnasium.
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