Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

KENOSHA, Wis. – Augustana went on the road to third-ranked Carthage Saturday and dropped a pair of matches. The Vikings fell 3-0 to North Central in a neutral site contest before dropping straight sets to the host Red Men.
 
Coach Mark Lau's squad is now 3-7 on the season and opens Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League play on Friday, February 16 when Wittenberg visits Carver Center for a 7:00 p.m. match.
 
NORTH CENTRAL 3, AUGUSTANA 0 (25-21; 25-19; 25-19)
 
A Richard Due kill broke the final tie (13-13) of the first game and sparked a 6-2 North Central run that gave the Cardinals control at 19-15. Augustana twice cut the deficit to one on kills by senior Tyler Rubarts (Paxton-Buckey-Loda HS, Paxton, Ill.) (19-18) and freshman Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.) (20-19), but Bozhidar Kolev answered with consecutive kills and North Central eventually took the set 25-21.
 
The Vikings jumped in front 4-1 in set two, but the Cardinals took nine of the next 12 points to go up 10-7. A 4-0 run later extended the North Central advantage to 15-9. Murphy had three kills in a span of four points and Augustana pulled to within 16-13. Kills by Joshua Richardson (Homewood-Flossmoor HS, Hazel Crest, Ill.) and Rubarts got the Vikings to within two points and they twice trimmed to deficit to one at 19-18 and 20-19. However, a Justin Curtis kill and four consecutive Viking attack errors—including two resulting from Cardinal blocks—closed the set out 25-19 in favor of North Central.
 
Casey Hiller and Jacob Zemba teamed up on a block that snapped the last tie (8-8) in set three and North Central captured the next two points to go up 11-8. A pair of Cardinal errors got Augustana as close as 11-10, but a Nick Lilley kill and a Viking attack error pushed the margin back to three and Lau's club wouldn't get closer than two points the rest of the way. Match point in a 25-19 North Central win came on an Augustana service error.
 
Rubarts and Murphy led the Vikings with eight kills each. Freshman Jason Szara (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) added seven. Freshman Ryan Hirschel (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) contributed a match-high 28 assists. Murphy, with seven digs and Szara, with a pair of blocks, were the defensive leaders. Kolev had a match-best nine kills for the 5-6 Cardinals.
 
CARTHAGE 3, AUGUSTANA 0 (25-13; 25-18; 25-19)
 
Richardson had a kill and a block as Augustana jumped on top 5-1 in the opening set with Carthage. The Vikings still led 8-6 after a Red Men service error, but the hosts ran off six straight points and 17 of the next 19 to take a 23-10 lead. A Mason More kill provided set point in a 25-13 Carthage win.
 
Augustana led early in game two as well, but three different Red Men had kills in a 4-0 run that gave them a 15-11 advantage. A Szara kill and a Carthage attack error got the visitors to within two points (15-13), but the Red Men answered with four of the next five points and the Vikings would get no closer than four points the rest of the way. An Augustana service error accounted for set point as Carthage won 25-18.
 
In game three, the teams alternated points until an Evan Walsh kill and a Max Bongratz block gave the Red Men a 9-7 lead. The Vikings tied it with a Carthage service error and a Richardson kill before the hosts took four straight points. Lau's crew eventually pulled to within 19-18 on a Murphy kill and a  Red Men attack error. However, Walsh assisted on two blocks and had a kill in a 5-0 Carthage run that stretched the margin to 24-18. Moore and Zach Lillig teamed up on a block for match point in a 25-19 Red Men victory.
 
Szara had 10 of Augustana's 21 kills in the match. Hirschel had 18 assists. Reigning MCVL Defensive Player of the Week  Matthew Schiferl (Wheeling HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) came through with eight digs and Richardson chipped in with two blocks. Reigning league Offensive Player of the Week Evan Walsh had a match-high 13 kills for Carthage, now 10-0 on the season.