CHICAGO, Ill. – Augustana had three players reach double figures in kills Saturday on its way to a four-set win at North Park. The Rock Island Vikings improved to 8-10 on the year, while the Vikings from Chicago fell to 4-13.

 

Justin Murphy (Glenbard South HS, Lombard, Ill.) had two kills as the visitors bolted to a 6-1 lead and led wire-to-wire in game one. Augustana stretched the lead to 10 on two occasions, at 23-13 on a Luis Zavala (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) service ace and again at 24-14 on a kill by Ryan Hirschel (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.). A Murphy kill gave the Vikings set point in a 25-16 win.
 
The hosts bounced back to win set two 25-22. Augustana's only leads came at 13-12 and 14-13 on a Jason Szara (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) ace and a Hirschel kill, respectively. NPU answered with kills by Daniel Porche and Arthur Barczak and wouldn't trail again. Another Barczak kill gave North Park the lead for good at 16-15 and Frank Mauioga's kill gave the hosts set point.
 
NPU led early in game three, but Gary Dodovich (St. Benedict HS, Chicago, Ill.) had three kills in a 6-0 Augustana run that put the visitors up 11-6. They pulled away to a 25-13 victory, with another Dodovich kill providing set point.
 
North Park led 20-18 in game four before Augustana rattled of five straight points to take command. Szara had two kills in the spree and teamed with Zavala on a block to finish it off. Match point came on an NPU service error, as the visitors won 25-22.
 
Szara's 18 kills led the Augustana attack and he also had 11 digs. Hirschel had a huge day with 14 kills, 32 assists, four blocks and six digs. Murphy finished with 11 kills. Matthew Schiferl had a team-best 12 digs and Caleb Minnis (Downers Grove South HS, Downers Grove, Ill.) a team-high five blocks.
 
Next up for the Vikings is a Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League match versus Adrian at Carver Center on Friday, March 15 at 7:00 p.m.