Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

RIVER FOREST, Ill. – Augustana dropped a pair of matches Friday afternoon at Dominican University's Igini Sports Forum. At noon, the Vikings fell in straight sets to Trinity Christian (2-3) and in a 2:30 p.m. match, fifth-ranked Dominican (2-0) defeated Coach Mark Lau's bunch in three games also.
 
Augustana is now 1-3 on the season heading into a pair of matches tomorrow at Aurora University. The Vikings take on the host Spartans at 3:00 p.m. and Illinois Tech at 5:00 p.m.
 
TRINITY CHRISTIAN 3, AUGUSTANA 0 (25-23; 25-20; 25-22)
 
Trinity Christian's Eddie Binion had a match-high 11  kills and Jonathan Poortinga had a perfect hitting game, with nine kills in as many attempts, as the Trolls won in three sets.
 
Game one was back-and-forth early, with ties at every score but seven-all before a Jason Szara (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) service ace and a Trinity attack error gave Augustana an 11-9 advantage. The Trolls took the next three points and the set remained close the rest of the way, with 18 ties and five lead changes in total. A Poortinga kill broke a 23-all deadlock and a Mike Quiroz service ace provided set point.
 
After the Vikings jumped in front 14-7 in set two, the Trolls won eight straight points with Danny Lawrence on the serve. A Szara kill achieved one final tie, but an Augustana service error gave Trinity the lead for good at 16-15. Set point in a 25-20 Troll win came on a block by Poortinga and Djordje Novakovic.
 
The Vikings won the first three points of the third game and although Trinity forged ties at 14 and 15-all, Augustana still led as late as 17-16. The Trolls took their first lead (18-17) after consecutive Augustana attack errors and a Lawrence kill gave them the lead for good at 19-18. They won the set 25-22, with a Ben Tocila kill accounting for match point.
 
Freshman Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.) paced the Viking attack with eight kills and equaled classmate Matthew Schiferl's (Wheeling HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) team-high five digs. Freshman Ryan Hirschel (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) delivered a match-high 27 assists and a pair of aces.
 
DOMINICAN 3, AUGUSTANA 0 (25-14; 25-15; 25-18)
 
The hosts, ranked fifth in the nation, were in control from the start. The Stars won the first five points of the match before a Murphy kill got Augustana on the board. The Stars steadily grew that early lead and eventually took the first game 25-14 with set point coming on a Viking service error.
 
An Andrew Housholder (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.) ace and a Murphy kill earned Augustana ties at two and three-all in game two, but Dominican took the lead for good on a Zach Sinn kill. The Vikings trailed just 9-7 after a kill by Dylan Baum (Warrensburg-Latham HS, Decatur, Ill.), but the Stars won four straight points and the margin would be no less than four the rest of the way. Set point in a 25-15 Star win came on a kill by Ethan Klosak.
 
In set three, Augustana stayed within striking distance of its highly-rank hosts. The Vikings trailed just 19-18 after a block by Szara and freshman Joshua Richardson (Homewood-Flossmoor HS, Hazel Crest, Ill.), but Dominican took the next six points to win 25-18. Adam Eboli had a pair of aces in the Stars' closing run.
 
Murphy equaled Klosak's match-high nine kills. Hirschel had 18 assists and Schiferl a match-best 11 digs.