Box Score

NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Winning the last three games, including the final two by identical 27-25 scores, Augustana scored a four-set victory over 17th-ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point Saturday morning at the CCIW/WIAC Crossover at North Central College. Coach Kelly Bethke's Vikings finish the weekend 2-0 and improved to 8-7 on the season. The Pointers fell to 14-5 on the year.
 
UWSP scored seven of the last nine points to take the opening game 25-20. April Gehl's kill accounted for set point.
 
The second was a game of runs early, with Augustana jumping out to a 10-4 lead before each team went on a 5-0 spree. It settled into a back-and-forth affair from that point, with neither team winning more than two straight points until the Pointers tallied three in a row to pull within 22-19. The Vikings closed things out though, as senior Emily Westermeyer (Huntley HS, Huntley, Ill.) finished the game with consecutive kills.
 
In the third set, Augustana rallied from an 18-13 deficit, responding to a Bethke timeout by winning nine straight points to go up 22-18. Westermeyer had three kills and senior Maissie Musick (Camp point Central HS, Camp Point, Ill.) two service aces in the run. Stevens Point came back to tie it at 24-all, but kills by junior Danielle Janacek (Lincoln-Way East HS, Mokena, Ill.) and Westermeyer finished off a 27-25 Viking win.
 
Leading two games to one, Augustana bolted to a 21-12 lead in the fourth, but UWSP answered by winning 12 of the next 14 points to forge a 24-23 lead. Bethke's bunch came back however, winning three of the final four points on kills by Musick, sophomore Grace Bialobok (Homewood-Flossmoor HS, Homewood, Ill.) and fittingly, Westermeyer.
 
Westermeyer led the way for the Vikings with a match and career-high 25 kills. She hit .420 for the match with just four errors in 50 attack attempts. Junior Taryn VanEarwage (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) added 11 kills. Setters McKenzie Zambrano (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) and Brooke Keegan (Hall HS, Ladd, Ill.) recorded 20 and 17 assists, respectively.
 
Defensively, senior Claire Martin (Mother McAuley HS, Orland Park, Ill.) had 23 digs and Bialobok was in on four blocks.
 
On Tuesday, September 26, Augustana moves back into CCIW play, hosting Carroll in a 7:00 p.m. match at Carver Center.