WINONA, Minn. (AUGIE) – The Augustana volleyball team dropped a four set match at the hands of the Winona State Warriors in four sets (25-21, 25-11, 20-25, 25-21) on Thursday night.

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.

Callie Hohenhaus opened the scoring in Winona, delivering a pair of early kills to jump in front. With the score tied at 3-3, the Vikings delivered five points in a row behind a pair of Piper Asche kills, a Reagan Jansen kill, and a Maya Wente kill to take an 8-3 lead. The Warriors slowly chipped back into the set, tying the match at 15-15 that led to a springboard an 8-1 run, giving them a 22-16 lead that wouldn’t be given up. 

In set two, the Vikings, again, scored the first two points before a 9-0 WSU barrage set the tone for the rest of the match. The Warriors would lead by at least five the rest of the way to give themselves a 2-0 advantage. 

For the third straight set, the Vikings jumped ahead 2-0 as they battled to stay alive in the match. After a 5-0 WSU run, the Vikings chipped back, evening the match at 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, and 11-11. The pair of points to even the match at 11-11 was just the beginning, opening up an 11-4 run, capped by a block from Maya Wente and Lucy Bartee, to take a 20-15 lead. The Warriors made the set interesting, climbing within two at 21-19, but three Kia Kriener kills fueled a 4-1 run to close the set.

The Vikings carried momentum into set four, jumping ahead 10-5 early and forcing a WSU timeout. Five of the next six points would go to the Warriors before scoring two of three points to even the set at 12-12. WSU would teeter ahead 14-13 before holding a narrow lead for the rest of the match, outside of a tied score at 16-16. The Vikings never gave up, bringing the set within one at 22-21, but three straight WSU kills closed the set and the match. 

Unofficially, Kriener delivered a match-high 14 kills, while Erika Bute collected 21 digs. Bartee had 30 assists, while Hohenhaus led the team with four blocks.

The Vikings will return to the Elmen Center on Saturday, hosting Minnesota State at 5 p.m., for Viking Days, as well as Alumni Day.

The Augustana community is invited to the Brew Pub — hosted by JJ’s Wine, Spirits & Cigars — at the Elmen Center on Saturday, Sept. 23. The pub will be available in between the Viking Football and Volleyball matches. Food, such as pulled pork nachos and corn dogs, will be available for purchase in the concession area next to the Brew Pub.