JAMAICA, N.Y. – Augustana continued its tour of New York State on Friday evening, dispatching York in three sets at the College Gymnasium. The Vikings won 25-16, 25-15 and 25-19 to improve to 5-7 on the season, while the host Cardinals fell to 1-7.
Sophomore Gary Dodovich had eight
kills and a crisp .538 attack percentage
Friday, as Augustana defeated York in
straight sets in Jamaica, New York.
In the first set,
Dillan Baum (Warrensburg-Latham HS, Decatur, Ill.) had three kills in a 5-0 Augustana run that gave the Vikings a 16-11 advantage. After York cut it to 17-14, the visitors rattled off seven in a row to lead 24-14. An Akil Vaughn kill and an Augustana attack error just prolonged the inevitable before freshman
Luis Zavala (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) delivered set point with a kill that gave his team a 25-16 win. Baum had five kills in the game.
Set two followed a similar pattern, with a Zavala kill breaking a nine-all tie and sparking a 5-0 Augustana spurt. The Viking bench played a big role as the team pulled away to a 25-15 win. Junior
Jordan Hawk (Metea Valley HS, Aurora, Ill.) and senior
Anthony Acitelli (Willowbrook HS, Villa Park, Ill.) each had one of the team's half-dozen service aces in the game and sophomore
Gary Dodovich (St. Benedict HS, Chicago, Ill.) had a pair of kills. Set point came via a Cardinal attack error.
Augustana finished of the sweep with a 25-19 win in game three. A Dodovich kill ignited a 4-0 run the put the Vikings up 8-3. Later, freshman
Caleb Minnis (Downers Grove South HS, Downers Grove, Ill.) served three straight aces in a 4-0 run that made it 15-7. Sophomore
Ryan Hirschel (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) eventually set classmate
Jason Szara (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) for a kill and match point, as Augustana won 25-19.
Zavala, with 11 kills in 15 swings, led the Viking attack. Dododvich added eight kills, with just one error, in 13 attempts. Hirschel had a match-high 24 assists and Minnis a program-record six aces. Szara's five digs paced Augustana defensively.
The Vikings are back in action in New Paltz, New York on Saturday, February 23. They'll play matches versus Elmira and eighth-ranked SUNY-New Paltz to conclude their eastern trip.
