Box Score
The Augustana volleyball team bounced back from a rough first set and knocked off No. 13 Minnesota Duluth in four sets Saturday evening at the Elmen Center. The set scores were 13-25, 25-22, 25-14, 25-13.
Augustana, ranked No. 23 in the nation, improved to 13-6 overall and 6-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference while Minnesota Duluth slipped to 14-5 overall and 5-2 in the NSIC.
Things didn't look good early for Augustana as the visiting Bulldogs pulled away in the first set. With the score tied 8-8, UMD closed out the set with a 17-5 run. In the set, Augustana had 10 kills and 12 errors. UMD, meanwhile, had 11 kills without an error.
The second set proved critical for Augustana. The Vikings gained an early 8-3 lead before Minnesota Duluth rallied to tie the score at 9-9. Later in the set, with the score tied 15-15, Augie used a 7-3 rally to take a 22-18 lead. The Bulldogs twice pulled within 2 points before Beth Talcott hammered a kill to the end the set 25-22.
Following intermission, Augustana dominated the action. After committing 18 attack errors in the first two sets, the Vikings had only 6 errors in the final two sets. Conversely, UMD had 16 errors in the final two sets after having just 6 in the first two.
In the third set, Augustana pulled away late in the set. Holding a 13-10 lead, the Vikings increased the lead to 18-13. After a UMD point made it 18-14, the Vikings reeled off 7 straight points to put the game away.
Augustana used a similar surge in the fourth set. Leading 8-5, Augustana went on an 11-5 run to take a commanding 19-10.
Augustana had three players reach double figures in kills. Cayla Schroeder led all players with 14 kills, while Kati Newgard and Talcott each had 11. Schroeder and Talcott picked up double-doubles as Schroeder had a match-high 16 digs, while Talcott had 11. Jenna Hultgren, Brianna Erickson and Lisa Hoegh all had 10 digs. Hoegh also had 42 assists.
Sarah Wyffels led Minnesota Duluth with 13 kills.
Augustana will go on the road next weekend when the Vikings travel to MSU Moorhead on Friday and Minnesota, Crookston on Saturday.