SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Augustana) — The Augustana volleyball team fell to the No. 1–ranked Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul in four sets (25-20, 25-15, 25-20) on Saturday afternoon.
The Vikings move to 3-6 on the season and 0-1 in conference action, while the Golden Bears move to 10-1 overall and 1-1 in NSIC play. AU opened the scoring against top-ranked CSP, as a Callie Hohenhaus kill started a 5-3 run for the Vikings to open the scoring. A pair of kills by Kia Kriener helped the cause, and a block from Lucy Bartee and Maya Wente capped the run. The next eight points would get split in the middle before a 4-0 CSP run gave them an 11-9 lead.
The Vikings countered with a 13-11 lead of their own, with kills from Hohenhaus, Kriener, and Piper Asche being joined by a CSP attack error to give them the lead back at 13-11. The Golden Bears would leak in front with eight of the next 11 points before a pair of AU points brought them within one at 19-18. CSP took control of the set from there, scoring six of the final eight points to take the first set.
In set two, CSP led for nearly the entirety, scoring four of the first five points and never looking back. After the Vikings made the set 5-4, the Golden Bears scored six of the next seven points, doubling AU at 14-7. The Vikings would come within six at 18-12 late, but a 7-3 run to close the set gave CSP a 2-0 advantage.
AU refused to go away in the third set, inching ahead 4-3 early, and delivering a Kriener kill after a 2-0 CSP run to tie the set at 5-5. Five of the next six points landed in favor of the Golden Bears, and after the Vikings scored a pair to get within 10-8, CSP scored seven of the next eight to march ahead 17-9. A Kriener kill and three consecutive Erika Bute aces brought AU back within 17-13, and a 3-0 run following two Golden Bear points brought the Vikings within three at 19-16, but it wouldn’t be enough. CSP closed the match scoring six of the final 10 points to come out on top.
Overall, the Vikings were led by Kriener, who delivered 15 kills on a .448 hitting percentage. Reagan Jansen followed, finishing second on the team with eight kills and eight digs. Erika Bute led the back line with 13 digs, adding the three aces to her totals. Lucy Bartee had 31 assists and six digs, and Ellie Walker picked up seven digs. Up Next The Vikings take on the Warriors of Winona State Thursday at 5 p.m. in Winona, Minn.
