ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Grace Bialobok's (Homewood-Flossmoor HS, Homewood, Ill.) 16 kills, Olivia Doak's (Crystal Lake Central HS, Crystal Lake, Ill.) 37 assists, Madi Glatz's (Morton HS, Morton, Ill.) 20 digs and Ja'Nya Davis' (Narbonne HS, Harbor City, Calif.) four blocks were all match bests Tuesday, as Augustana won the battle of the Vikings in straight sets over North Park at Carver Center. Coach Kelly Bethke's squad improved to 9-11 overall and 3-2 in the CCIW, while NPU fell to 8-12 on the year and 0-4 in the league.
 
There were four lead changes and 10 ties in the opening set before Augustana came out on top 25-22. North Park led 4-1 out of the gate, but Bialobok had two kills as Augustana claimed six of the next seven points to go up 7-5. The game settled into a back-and-forth affair that eventually had ties at 20, 21 and 22-all. Another Bialobok kill broke the final deadlock and after an NPU attack error, her fifth of the game gave the hosts set point.
 
Augustana led wire-to-wire in a 25-21 second-set victory. Bialobok and Lexi Miller (Oswego HS, Oswego, Ill.) each had a pair of kills as Bethke's bunch jumped on top 7-2. The margin was still five (11-6) when North Park began chipping away. A Kate Widman kill, a Christina Gatta service ace and an Augustana attack error drew the visitors to within 11-9, but the hosts fought them off. The teams continued to trade runs, but NPU could never get closer than two points. A Kenzie Krueger kill pulled North Park to within 23-21, but one by Bialobok and a bad NPU set closed out the game in favor of Augustana.
 
After three Bialobok kills helped stake Augustana to an 8-4 lead in set three, North Park battled back to go up 11-10. However, a Laura Heuermann (Washington HS, Washington, Ill.) kill ted it and with Sparks serving, the hosts claimed the next four points as well and were never seriously threatened after that. Sparks had an ace during the run and Bialobok two more kills. A Kailyn Matthews kill cut the deficit to 18-14, but Augustana took the final seven points, getting kills from four different players before consecutive Caroline Hurst (Metea Valley HS, Aurora, Ill.) aces finished closed out the match.
 
Miller added nine kills for Augustana and Doak chipped in with nine digs.
 
Matthews finished with eight kills for North Park.
 
Bethke's squad is back in action on Friday, October 11, hosting Millikin beginning at 7:00 p.m. It will be Camper/Youth Night at Carver Center.