Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana dropped a pair of narrow decisions in games three and four Wednesday and fell to Mount Mercy three games to one at Carver Center. The Vikings dropped to 6-13 on the season, while the Mustangs improved to 14-5.
 
Set one was tied 3-3 after an ace by freshman Ryan Hirschel (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.). However, he followed that with a service error and Mount Mercy went on to win 10 of the next 11 points and go up 14-4. Nikola Stoimenov recorded three consecutive aces at one point and Strahil Svilenski added a pair of kills. A Ben Steffen kill eventually accounted for set point in a 25-17 Mustang win.
 
Freshman Jason Szara (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) had four kills and classmate Joshua Richardson (Homewood-Flossmoor HS, Hazel Crest, Ill.) three as Augustana took an 13-9 lead in game two. The visitors got as close as two, at 18-16, but the Vikings won five of the next six points to go up 23-17. Freshman Andrew Housholder's (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.) third kill of the game got Augustana to set point, which came on a Mustang attack error, giving the Vikings a 25-19 victory.
 
Mount Mercy rallied in game three to pull out a 28-26 win. Only once, when the Mustangs led 7-4, did the margin reach as much as three points in the set. Consecutive kills by Richardson and freshman Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.) eventually gave the hosts a 20-18 lead, but Mount Mercy rallied to go ahead 24-23. Another Murphy kill and one by freshman Dylan Baum (Warrensburg-Latham HS, Decatur, Ill.) staved off a pair of set points before consecutive blocks by Steffen closed out the game.
 
The visitors closed strong in a 25-23 game four win. They trailed by five points as late as 17-12, but eventually tied it at 20-all on an Augustana attack error. The Vikings led 21-20 and 22-21, but a Steffen kill and a block by Svilenski and Bobby Muller put Mount Mercy up 23-22. The hosts forged one final tie at 23-all, but Slivenski had a kill and then combined on a block with Cole Splitter for match point.
 
Szara led a trio of Vikings with double-digit kills. He finished with a match-best 12, while Murphy added 11 and Baum 10. Hirschel had 41 assists and freshman Matthew Schiferl (Wheeling HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) contributed a match-high 19 digs. Svilenski led the Mustangs with 10 kills and Andrew Colantone dished out a match-high 41 assists.
 
Coach Mark Lau's squad is back in action on Saturday, March 10, traveling to Dubuque, Iowa to face Loras in a Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League contest. Start time for that match is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.