SMSU edges Augustana in five set thriller

MARSHALL, MN (AUGUSTANA) — Augustana volleyball battled to the very end in a marathon five-set thriller with No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State, eventually falling 16-25, 23-25, 26-24, 25-21,14-16 in non-conference action on Tuesday night.

The Vikings now hold a 6-5 record on the 2024 season with a 2-0 conference showing while the Mustangs jump to 11-0 with a 2-0 NSIC record.

Maya Wente rocketed down 18 kills off a .417 hitting percentage and added in five total blocks, including two solo. Reagan Jansen also joined in on the attack with 17 kills and 22 digs for a double-double alongside three aces.

Lucy Bartee dished out 48 assists with 15 digs and three total blocks as Gabby Jones tallied 30 digs and Ellie Walker chipped in three aces and 14 digs.

Augustana held the advantage over its opponent in digs (114) and aces (9) while totaling 63 kills, 59 assists and 11 blocks.

SMSU jumped out with a 4-0 run to open the first set and take a 9-4 lead. The Vikings clawed back, cutting it to a 10-8 difference, but the Mustangs responded immediately with eight straight points. Another 3-0 run later on staved off an attempt from Augustana to fight back, ending the set 25-16.

Two aces from Walker and a kill from Kiylah Franke helped the Vikings quickly kick off set two with an early 10-4 advantage until five straight points from SMSU made it 10-9. Then Brooke Berens got hot. She slammed down two kills and assisted on two blocks with Sydney Tims as Jolie Stecher added an ace to push the lead back to 15-9. The Mustangs tied it up four times near the end of the set, including at 22 apiece, and eventually closed it at 25-23.

Set three started with a five-point advantage for the Mustangs until the Vikings hit back to tie it at seven. The competition remained tight, with the two teams tying up 11 times throughout the remainder of the set and exchanging 3-0 runs. But when SMSU was up 24-23, a successful challenge from the Vikings gave Stecher the kill and tied the game at 24. And back-to-back attacks from Berens extended the game after winning the set 26-24.

The Vikings took their first lead of the fourth set at 10-9 off an ace from Tims and, despite several ties with the Mustangs, would never relinquish that lead. Augustana’s front row attack and blocking continued to dominate and pushed the score to 23-17. SMSU closed it to 23-20 but Wente and Stecher notched a kill each to force a fifth at 25-21.

SMSU came out swinging in the final set, taking a four-point lead and holding onto an 8-4 advantage at the switching of sides. Back-to-back aces from Jansen and kills from Berens and Stecher combined to cut it to a 12-11 deficit until Tims tied it at 13 apiece. But despite tying it up again at 14, the Mustangs fought back and scored the final two points to win it 16-14.

Looking Ahead
The Vikings will return for the home opener weekend with MSU Moorhead at 6 p.m. on Friday and Northern State at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

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