ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - Augustana rallied from down two games to none Friday, but couldn't come back from an early deficit in game five and fell to Adrian at Carver Center. The Vikings dropped to 8-11 on the season and suffered their first setback in three MCVL matches. The Bulldogs improved to 13-9 overall and 2-0 in the league.

 

A 9-1 Adrian run midway through the set spelled the difference in game one. Behind four kills and two service aces by Jason Szara (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.), the hosts jumped front 11-7 and they led 14-10 after an ace by Ryan Hirschel (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.). However, the Bulldogs captured nine of the next 10 points to take a 19-15 lead. Mike Gold had two kills and a block in the spurt. A Caleb Minnis (Downers Grove South HS, Downers Grove, Ill.) kill eventually pulled Augustana to within 23-22, but after Adrian's Noah Marcinkowski and Hirschel traded kills, one by Gold gave the visitors set point in a 25-23 win.
 
Game two was tight the entire way. Only once, when a Viking attack error gave Adrian a 9-6 lead, did the margin exceed two points in either team's favor. Justin Murphy (Glenbard South HS, Lombard, Ill.) had four kills in the set for Augustana, but a Viking overpass led to a Bulldog kill that gave them a 25-23 win.
 
An Adrian service error gave Augustana a 3-2 advantage in game three and the Vikings would lead the rest of the way. A kill by Minnis gave them their biggest lead at 12-7, one that was matched twice on kills Luis Zavala (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) (19-14) and Szara (20-15). The Bulldogs pulled within 23-22 on an Augustana service error, but Zavala had a kill and an Adrian attack error gave the hosts set point in a 25-22 win.
 
The Vikings rallied from an early deficit to capture game four by a score of 25-23. After Augustana won the first three points, the Bulldogs rattled off 10 of the next 12 to lead 10-5. They were up 12-7 after a Gold kill, but the Vikings came back to take a 14-13 lead on a block by Zavala and the margin wouldn't be more than two points the rest of the way. With Augustana trailing 23-22, Zavala had a kill, teamed with Szara for a block and then delivered set point with another kill.
 
In game five, Peyton Doelling had a block and a kill and Adrian benefitted from three unforced Viking errors to jump on top 8-4. Minnis had two kills and Murphy one as Augustana took the first three points after the turn. However, the Vikings could never pull even and despite fighting off the first match point with Zavala's 15th kill of the night, they fell on a Marcinkowski kill that gave the Bulldogs a 15-13 win.
 
Zavala stood out with 15 kills and no errors in 21 swings, as well as a match-high seven blocks (three solo). Murphy added 13 kills. Sanchit Khaitan's (Glenbard North HS, Bloomingdale, Ill.) 48 assists equaled the third-highest single-match total in program history. Matthew Schiferl (Wheeling HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) led three Vikings in double-digit digs with 16.
 
Marcinkowski finished with a match-high 18 kills for Adrian.
 
Augustana is back in action on Saturday, March 16, hosting Olivet in an MCVL match at Carver Center beginning at 3:00 p.m.