LISLE, Ill. – Augustana faced a pair of ranked opponents Sunday at the Dan and Ada Rice Center, falling to 11th-ranked Stevenson in four sets and to 14th-rated host Benedictine in three. The Vikings dropped to 0-3 on the season, while the Mustangs and Eagles improved to 5-1 and 2-1, respectively.

 

Coach Mark Lau's squad is in action next on Saturday, January 26 in River Forest, Illinois, where Mount St. Joseph and host Dominican, ranked seventh in the nation, will be the opponents.
 
STEVENSON 3 , AUGUSTANA 1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19)
 
Freshmen Caleb Minnis (Downers Grove South HS, Downers Grove, Ill.) and Luis Zavala (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) teamed for a block on the first point of the match to give Augustana its only lead of the opening set. Nathan Bosse and Tanner Stauffer did the same to give the Stevenson a 3-2 lead and the Mustangs wouldn't relinquish it. They gradually pulled away to win 25-19, getting set point via a Viking service error.
 
Augustana benefitted from three Stevenson service errors early in set two and took a 6-5 lead on a service ace by freshman Joey De Matteo (New Trier HS, Winnetka, Ill.). Consecutive Minnis kills and another by sophomore Dylan Baum (Warrensburg-Latham HS, Decatur, Ill.) eventually extended the advantage to 16-10, prompting a Mustang timeout. Kills by Minnis and sophomore Ryan Hirschel (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) gave the Vikings separate seven-point leads, their biggest of the game. Stevenson rallied to within 24-23, but Hirschel set Minnis for a kill and set point.
 
Lau's bunch fought back from a 6-0 deficit in game three, finally pulling even at 17-all on a block by Richardson and Baum. The Mustangs answered with the next five points though and won 25-20, getting set point on a Billy Russo ace.
 
Game four was tight early. Stevenson led by no more than two points until a Landon Shorts kill and an Augustana attack error put the Mustangs up 11-7. The Vikings battled back to get within two (19-17) after consecutive Hirschel aces, but Stevenson closed things out by winning six of the last eight points for a 25-19 win. Logan Smiley teamed with Nate Reynolds and Christian Taylor for a block that provided match point.
 
Minnis led Augustana with 10 kills and sophomore Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.) added eight. In addition to five kills, Hirschel had team highs of 38 assists, three aces and eight digs. Richardson was in on four blocks. Smiley finished with a match-high 12 kills for the Mustangs.
 
BENEDICTINE 3, AUGUSTANA 0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-16)
 
The hosts put the first set out of reach with a 9-0 run, fueled by the serving of Elijah Medlock, which put Benedictine up 12-3. The closest the Vikings would get was 13-6 on an ace by Baum and the Eagles eventually got set point in a 25-12 win on an Augustana attack error.
 
Benedictine won the last five points to claim the second game 25-15. Set point came when Medlock and Jacob Strande teamed up for a block.
 
The Eagles jumped in front 4-0 in game three and finished of the match with a 25-16 victory. Jeff Spagnolo delivered match point with a kill.
 
Sophomore Jason Szara (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) led the Vikings with nine kills. Freshman Sanchit Khaitan (Glenbard North HS, Bloomingdale, Ill.) had team highs of 16 assists and five digs.