ELMHURST, Ill. – Coach Kelly Bethke's Augustana club advanced to semifinal play in the CCIW Tournament Tuesday with a five-set victory over Elmhurst at Faganel Hall. The Vikings improved to 13-18 on the season and move on to face third-ranked Carthage (25-3) in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Thursday, November 7 at 7:00 p.m. The host Bluejays finished the year 10-22.
 
Augustana took a 5-4 lead in the fifth and deciding set when senior Taylor Steger (Red Wing HS, Goodhue, Minn.) and freshman Ja'Nya Davis (Narbonne HS, Harbor City, Calif.) teamed up on a block. Elmhurst was still within a point at 7-6 following an Ellie Burzlaff kill, but senior Brooke Harmon (Lindbergh HS, St. Louis, Mo.) answered with one of her own to give the Vikings an 8-6 lead at the turn. Coming out of the break, they tacked on five straight points with senior Brooke Keegan (Hall HS, Ladd, Ill.) on the serve. Another Harmon kill finished off the run and put the visitors up 13-6.  A Bailey Brouwer kill stemmed the tide momentarily, but Augustana got an Abby Phalen (Mendota HS, Mendota, Ill.) kill and match point in a 15-7 Viking victory came via a Bluejay attack error.
 
Elmhurst won the opening set 25-20. A Brouwer kill broke a 10-all tie and sparked a 12-5 Bluejay run that gave them their biggest lead of the game at 22-15. Senior Grace Bialobok (Homewood-Flossmoor HS, Homewood, Ill.) and sophomore Olivia Doak (Crystal Lake Central HS, Crystal Lake, Ill.) had kills in a 3-0 Augustana run that cut the deficit to 23-20, but consecutive kills by Elmhurst's Kayla Mast closed out the set.
 
Game two went the Vikings' way, 25-22. Payton Froats' kill gave the hosts a 19-16 advantage, but a service error on the next point opened the door and Augustana took advantage, going on a 5-1 run to take a 21-20 lead on a Bialobok kill. The teams swapped points until a Davis kill gave the Vikings a 23-22 lead and a pair of Bluejay errors ended the set.
 
Bethke's crew went up 2-1 with a 27-25 win in game three. Bialobok and junior Laura Heuermann (Washington HS, Washington, Ill.) each had three kills as Augustana jumped in front 15-9. Elmhurst battled back and eventually ran off six straight points to go up 21-19. The guests fought off set points at 24-23 and 25-24 with respective kills by Bialobok and Davis before another Davis kill and a Bluejay attack error gave the Vikings the win.
 
Although there were six ties, Elmhurst never trailed in a 25-23 fourth-set win. Brouwer's kill broke the final deadlock of 17-all and set point eventually came on an Emily Duis kill.
 
Four Vikings finished with double-digit kills. Bialobok led the way with 19, while Harmon added 13, Heuermann a dozen and Davis 10. Doak and junior Jessica Nguyen (Kaneland HS, Elburn, Ill.) had huge nights. Doak recorded 56 assists, six aces and 19 digs and Nguyen equaled the 12th-highest dig total in program history with 40. Steger had a team-high four blocks and Davis chipped in with three.
 
Brouwer had a match-high 22 kills for the Bluejays.