ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana used a 14-2 run in game three to finish off a 3-0 sweep of North Central Friday evening at Carver Center. With the win, Coach Kelly Bethke's

Vikings improve to 14-11 on the season and 4-3 in the CCIW. The Cardinals dropped to 3-18 overall and 0-6 in the conference.
 
In the opening game, Augustana grabbed leads of 10-7 and 11-8 on a Taryn VanEarwage (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) ace and a Brooke Harmon (Lindbergh HS, St. Louis, Mo.) kill, respectively. Consecutive Anna Billman kills pulled North Central even at 11-all and there were ties at 12, 13, 14, 16 and 17 before a Cardinal attack error gave the Vikings the lead for good. They ended up winning eight of the last 10 points, with a kill by junior Grace Bialobok (Homewood-Flossmoor HS, Homewood, Ill.) providing set point in a 25-19 Augustana win.
 
The Vikings led early again in game two. They went up 10-7 on an Emily Uglem (Moorhead HS, Moorhead, Minn.) kill, but North Central bounced back to go ahead 12-11 on a Claire Vrabec kill and 13-12 on another by Kaylee Allensworth. Kimberly Epker's kill pulled the Cardinals even one final time at 18-all, but three straight errors gave the hosts a 21-18 advantage. North Central would get as close as 22-21 before committing three consecutive errors that gave Augustana a 25-21 win.
 
It was the Cardinals who jumped on top in the third set, as the Vikings were forced to climb out of a 14-5 hole to finish off the sweep with a 25-19 win. A North Central service error made it 14-6 and put senior McKenzie Zambrano (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) on the serve for Augustana. VanEarwage had two kills as the hosts claimed five straight points. A service error finally ended Zambrano's turn, but the deficit had been trimmed to 15-11. After a Cardinal service error, two Sierra Erke (Quincy HS, Quincy, Ill.) kills finally pulled the Vikings even at 15-all. The visitors took one final lead at 16-15, but Victoria Biggerstaff (Broomfield HS, Broomfield, Colo.) tied it with a kill and a North Central error gave Augustana a lead it wouldn't relinquish. The Vikings took the final four points, getting kills from Bialobok and Uglem before VanEarwage's delivered match point.
 
Bialobok finished with a match-high 11 kills. VanEarwage had seven without committing an attack error and added eight digs. Uglem had seven kills as well. Junior Brooke Keegan (Hall HS, Ladd, Ill.) led Bethke's bunch with 13 assists, two more than freshman Olivia Doak (Crystal Lake Central HS, Crystal Lake, Ill.). Junior Madi Glatz (Morton HS, Morton, Ill.) contributed a match-best 22 digs and Harmon was in on five blocks, also a match high.
 
Augustana is back in action at Carver Center on Saturday, October 20, when eighth-ranked University of Chicago visits for "Youth/Camper Day." The Maroons are 24-3 on the season.