Box Score

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Senior Emily Westermeyer (Huntley HS, Huntley, Ill.) recorded 17 kills Saturday afternoon as Augustana defeated Whittier in three sets at the Colorado College Classic. The Vikings—who take on the ninth-ranked host Tigers Saturday at 6:00 p.m. MDT—improved to 1-2 on the year, while the Poets dropped to 2-2.
 
Behind five Westermeyer kills, Augustana took the first set 25-20. The Vikings bolted to an 11-3 lead and a Taryn VanEarwage (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) kill gave them their biggest lead of the game at 19-8, but Whittier went on a 12-4 run to get within 23-20. Seniors Maissie Musick (Camp Point Central HS, Camp Point, Ill.) and Peyton Achs (Eastland HS, Erie, Ill.) blocked an Ashley Whittall kill attempt to reach set point and a Westermeyer service ace finished it off.
 
The Poets jumped in front 13-7 in game two, but Augustana Coach Kelly Bethke called a timeout and her squad responded by winning three straight points and eventually tying it at 19-all on a Musick ace. Whittier answered with three straight points and still led 23-21 when sophomore Grace Bialobok (Homewood-Flossmoor HS, Homewood, Ill.) and senior Kaycee Kallenberger (Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf,  Iowa) teamed up to snuff a Whittall kill attempt. Their block sparked a 4-0 Viking closing run, with a Bialobok/Westermeyer block accounting for set point in a 25-23 win.
 
The third set was nip-and-tuck most of the way. Augustana managed a 14-10 lead, but the Poets tallied four straight points to tie it and the margin would be no more than two the rest of the way. There would be ties at 16, 19, 20, 22 and 24 before Whittier went up 25-24 on an Aubrey Caires kill. Westermeyer answered with one of her own and after three more ties, Achs' kill got the Vikings to match point and a Poet attack error ended it, 30-28.
 
VanEarwage finished with seven kills, a dozen digs and three blocks. Bialobok had six kills and a match-high nine blocks. Musick had a half-dozen of each and Kallenberger contributed four kills and seven blocks. Junior McKenzie Zambrano (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) had a match-high 24 assists, along with 12 digs and sophomore Brooke Keegan (Hall HS, Ladd, Ill.) had 14 assists and a pair of aces. Senior Claire Martin (Mother McAuley HS, Orland Park, Ill.) led Augustana with 15 digs.