MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Augustana captured a back-and-forth match Friday versus the hosts at the Milwaukee School of Engineering Invite. The Vikings downed the Raiders in five sets at Hotchkin Arena to improve to 2-4 on the year. MSOE dropped to 1-4. Coach Kelly Bethke's squad will be back in action at the tournament on Saturday, September 7, taking on Benedictine at noon and Alverno at 2:00 p.m.
 
Augustana took an early lead in set one, going ahead 7-3 on a block by freshman Ja'Nya Davis (Narbonne HS, Harbor City, Calif.) and sophomore Lexi Miller (Oswego HS, Oswego, Ill.). The Raiders rallied to grab a 17-16 advantage and eventually extended it to 22-18 following a Quinn Borchert kill. However, an MSOE attack error opened the door for the Vikings and they claimed eight of the final 10 points to win 26-24. Sophomore Olivia Doak (Crystal Lake Central HS, Crystal Lake, Ill.) set Davis for a kill and set point.
 
The teams alternated wins by comfortable margins in the next three games. MSOE jumped on top 6-1 in the second and cruised to a 25-11 win, with set point coming on Chloe Wallach kill.
 
An 8-0 run midway through game three keyed a 25-18 Augustana win. Senior Brooke Harmon (Lindbergh HS, St. Louis, Mo.) had three kills in the spurt, which took the Vikings from down 8-6 to up 14-8. Set point came on a kill from senior Grace Bialobok (Homewood-Flossmoor HS, Homewood, Ill.).
 
The Raiders forced a fifth set by taking game four 25-16. A Grace Brock kill tied it at 10-all and ignited an 11-4 MSOE run. Augustana would get no closer than six points the rest of the way and gave the hosts set point via a service error.
 
It was a Raider service error that gave Augustana the lead for good (12-11) in a tight final game. Kills by Miller and Bialobok pushed the margin to 14-11—the largest of the set—before the teams traded the final two points. Match point came on an MSOE attack error.
 
Five Vikings posted at least a half-dozen kills, led by Bialobok's match-high 18. Harmon added eight, Miller seven and Davis and junior Laura Heuermann (Washington HS, Washington, Ill.) six each. Doak's 40 assists gave her a new career high for the third consecutive match.
 
Defensively, junior Jessica Nguyen (Kaneland HS, Elburn, Ill.) came through with 25 digs, while Doak and senior Brooke Keegan (Hall HS, Ladd, Ill.) chipped in with 13 and 10, respectively. Davis was in on five blocks and Miller four.
 
Wallach had 16 kills to lead three Raiders in double figures.