ROCK ISLAND, Ill.  – Augustana wrapped up play at the Viking Classic Saturday with wins over Loras and Webster at Carver Center. Coach Kelly Bethke's squad improved to 7-5 on the year and will take on Dominican in River Forest, Illinois at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 19.
 
AUGUSTANA 3, LORAS 2 (20-25; 25-23; 25-16; 21-25; 15-9)
 
Augustana shook off a slow start in Saturday's opener, bouncing back from 25-20 first-set loss to defeat Loras in five. The Vikings handed the Duhawks just their third loss in 12 outings this season. Junior Grace Bialobok (Homewood-Flossmoor HS, Homewood, Ill.) led the way with 14 kills, while senior Emily Uglem (Moorhead HS, Moorhead, Minn.) added 10. Setters Olivia Doak (Crystal Lake Central HS, Crystal Lake, Ill.) and McKenzie Zambrano contributed 21 and 20 assists, respectively, and sophomore Jessica Nguyen (Kaneland HS, Elburn, Ill.) had a match-high 32 digs. Junior Taylor Steger (Red Wing HS, Goodhue, Minn.) was in on a match-best five blocks.
 
Bialobok had a pair of kills as Augustana jumped in front 6-4 in game one. However, Kayla Kinney and Michelle Budden each had two kills as Loras answered by taking 15 of the next 20 points to go up 19-11. The Vikings would get as close as four points twice, but a Kelly Boge kill finished off a 25-20 Duhawk win.
 
The pivotal second set was tight the entire way. After falling behind 2-0, Augustana rallied to lead for much of the early portion of the game. There were also 10 ties before Loras got consecutive kills by Budden, Paige Griffith and Kinney, along with a Kira Busse service ace, to take an 18-14 lead. A Courtney Ward (Crystal Lake Central HS, Lakewood, Ill.) kill sparked a 5-0 Viking run that featured two Taryn VanEarwage (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) kills and put Augustana up 19-18. The lead bounced back and forth until Loras went ahead 23-21, but after Bethke called a timeout, her squad responded with the final four points. Set point came on Emily Uglem's (Moorhead HS, Moorhead, Minn.) kill off a Doak set.
 
The hosts dominated game three, jumping ahead 6-1 on two Bialobok kills and four Duhawk hitting errors. Another Bialobok kill gave the Vikings their biggest lead at 17-7. Nguyen set VanEarwage for a kill that closed out a 25-16 Augustana win.
 
Loras forced a fifth set with a 25-21 win in game four. The Duhawks took the lead for good at 18-17 on a Viking service error and stretched the advantage to 20-17. The final margin equaled the largest of the game. A Jackie Alberto kill accounted for set point.
 
Augustana claimed the first four points of set five and went on to win 15-9. Loras came back to tie it at 5-all, but a Victoria Biggerstaff (Broomfield HS, Broomfield, Colo.) kill gave the Vikings a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Match point came on a Nguyen ace.
 
AUGUSTANA 3, WEBSTER 1 (25-16; 25-16; 13-25; 25-21)
 
Bialobok had two kills as Augustana bolted to a 6-1 lead in set one against Webster. The margin ballooned to 12 points twice (21-9 and 22-10) on kills by Ward. Freshman Jordan Dryfhout (Chicago Christian HS, Orland Park, Ill.) set her for both and the pair teamed up again for set point in a 25-16 Viking win.
 
Set two ended 25-16 in Augustana's favor as well. The Vikings took the lead for good at 8-7. A Gorlok ball handling error eventually provided set point.
 
Webster responded with a 25-13 win in set three. The game opened with three straight attack errors by Augustana. A Samantha Kruse ace gave Webster a 6-1 lead. The final margin was the widest of the set, which was finished off by a Torie Grassi kill.
 
The hosts avoided a second five-set match on the day by downing the Gorloks 25-21 in game four. The Vikings won the final six points. A VanEarwage kill tied things at 21-all. A Webster attack error gave Augustana a 22-21 lead and Bethke's bunch maintained the momentum, closing out the match with a VanEarwage-Steger block and kills by Uglem and VanEarwage.
 
Bialobok added another 16 kills to finish the afternoon with 30. Dryfhout had a team-best 12 assists and Nguyen had a dozen digs to lead four Vikings in double figures.