ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Junior Grace Bialobok (Homewood-Flossmoor HS, Homewood, Ill.) had 14 kills with no errors Wednesday and Augustana had a pair of setters post at least 20 assists as Coach Kelly Bethke's squad defeated Dubuque in straights sets—25-18, 25-22 and 25-18—at Carver Center. The match was the first varsity competition held on the new floor at Carver, installed over the summer. The Vikings improved to 3-2 on the season, while the Spartans dropped to 3-2.
 
Kills by Taylor Steger (Red Wing HS, Goodhue, Minn.) and Bialobok gave Augustana a 2-0 lead in set one, but Dubuque answered. Paige Harbort had a kill that tied it at 6-6 and another that gave the Spartans a 9-6 lead. However, the Vikings would win eight of the next nine points. Brooke Harmon (Lindbergh HS, St. Louis, Mo.) had two of five consecutive Augustana kills before a Dubuque attack error pushed the margin to 14-10.
 
The visitors would get no closer than two points the rest of the way. Bialobok and Taryn VanEarwage (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) each had two kills to stretch the advantage to 24-18 and another by Harmon finished off a 25-18 Viking win.
 
The Spartans took a 1-0 lead in game two on a block by Kara Wright and Rylee Andresen. That would be the only time Augustana trailed. Bialobok's second kill of the set gave the Vikings a 3-2 lead. The margin would reach four on five occasions before Kendall Kaufmann and Andresen sandwiched kills around a Harbort ace to pull even at 17-all. A VanEarwage kill gave Augustana the lead for good at 18-17 and Emily Uglem (Moorhead HS, Moorhead, Minn.) kills accounted for the Vikings' final three points in a 25-22 win.
 
Except for ties at one, two and three-all, Augustana led the whole way in set three. A Bialobok kill put the Vikings up for good at 4-3 and three straight by Steger pushed the lead to 10-5. Dubuque drew within two points at 15-13 and 17-15, but a Bialobok kill sparked a 7-0 run for Bethke's bunch. The visitors fought off three match points before committing an attack error to end things, 25-18 in favor of the hosts.
 
Bialobok's 14 kills came on 21 attempts, good for a crisp .667 attack percentage. Uglem reached double digits in kills as well, with 11. Senior McKenzie Zambrano (Rock island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) and freshman Olivia Doak (Crystal Lake Central HS, Crystal Lake, Ill.) split the setting duties and finished with 23 and 20 assists, respectively. Sophomore Jessica Nguyen (Kaneland HS, Elburn, Ill.) recorded 23 digs, while VanEarwage added 16 (to go along with eight kills) and junior Madi Glatz (Morton HS, Morton, Ill.) 11. Bialobok, Harmon and Steger each finished with a pair of blocks.
 
Augustana is back in action at the Grinnell College Tournament in Grinnell, Iowa this weekend. The Vikings open versus Central on Friday, September 7 at 6:00 p.m.