Vikings finish 13-19 overall; 4-4 and tied for fourth in the CCIW; Grace Bialobok, Jessica Nguyen and Brooke Harmon named All-CCIW
 
Augustana finished the 2019 women's volleyball season with a 13-19 overall record and went 4-4 to tie for fourth place in the CCIW, the Vikings' highest finish since 2010. Coach Kelly Bethke's outfit opened CCIW Tournament play with a win at Elmhurst—the program's first conference tourney victory since 2008—before third-ranked Carthage ended Augustana's season in the semifinals.
 
Named to this year's All-CCIW team were senior outside Grace Bialobok (Homewood-Flossmoor HS, Homewood, Ill.), who was a first team selection, and senior middle Brooke Harmon (Lindbergh HS, St. Louis, Mo.) and junior defensive specialist Jessica Nguyen (Kaneland HS, Elburn, Ill.), who were second team picks. Bialobok was also selected to the CCIW all-tournament team after posting 26 kills in two matches.
 
The Vikings opened the season at the Elmhurst Invitational and dropped their first three matches, including setbacks to 18th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus and 10th-rated Aurora. They picked up their first win of the season in their tourney finale against Greenville. After a loss at Dubuque, Bethke's bunch won two of three at the MSOE Tournament.
 
From September 14-27, Augustana ran off five straight wins, including victories over North Central and Carroll in its first two CCIW matches. The Carroll contest, on September 25, was the Vikings' home opener after playing its first 13 matches on the road. The fifth win of the streak came against Coe, as Augustana hosted the Viking Classic.
 
Augustana added league wins over North Park at home and Wheaton on the road to finish the conference slate at 4-4 and closed out the regular season by hosting the Pumpkin Bash on November 2. The Vikings fell to Nebraska Wesleyan before defeating Monmouth in the regular season finale.
 
Bethke's crew finished strong to win in five sets at Elmhurst in the CCIW Tournament opening round. A three-set semifinal loss at third-ranked Carthage brought the season to an end.
 
Bialobok became Augustana's first two-time first team All-CCIW honoree since Ashley Borah was selected three straight years from 1995-97. She finished the year with 426 kills, the sixth-highest single-season total in program history and her average of 3.77 kills per set ranks fourth all-time. With 1025 career kills, Bialobok ranks 11th on the all-time Viking list. A middle for her first three seasons, she also ranks ninth in program history with 216 block assists and 12th with 271 total blocks. Her 1196 career points are 15th-most in school history.
 
Harmon led Augustana with a .213 attack percentage this year and was second on the team in kills (203), service aces (34) and solo (six), assisted (55) and total (61) blocks.
 
Nguyen recorded the fourth-highest dig total (617) and digs-per-set average (5.77) in program history this year. She also had 71 assists and 27 service aces. With a season still to play, her career average of 4.76 digs per game trails only Kylie Siebert's school-record 5.06.
 
Other statistical leaders for the Vikings this year included sophomore Olivia Doak (Crystal Lake Central HS, Crystal Lake, Ill.), whose 909 assists rank 12th in a single season at Augustana. Doak also had 46 aces to lead the team for the second year in a row. Freshman Ja'Nya Davis (Narbonne HS, Harbor City, Calif.) led the Vikings with 20 solo, 61 assisted and 81 total blocks. Senior Madi Glatz (Morton HS, Morton, Ill.) played in a team-high 116 sets this year and was second on the team with 268 digs.
 
 
2019 CCIW VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS

School	CCIW	Pct.	Overall	Pct.
Carthage	8-0	1.000	31-4	.886
Illinois Wesleyan	6-2	.750	9-20	.310
Millikin	6-2	.750	22-13	.629
Elmhurst	4-4	.500	10-22	.313
AUGUSTANA	4-4	.500	13-19	.406
Wheaton	3-5	.375	17-13	.567
Carroll	3-5	.375	14-15	.483
North Park	2-6	.250	12-17	.414
North Central	0-8	.000	5-24	.172

 
2019 CCIW TOURNAMENT in Kenosha, Wis.
Tuesday, November 5 (First Round)
#3 Millikin def. #6 Wheaton 25-20, 25-23, 25-18 (at Decatur, Ill.)
#5 Augustana def. #4 Elmhurst 20-25, 25-22, 27-25, 23-25, 15-7 (at Elmhurst, Ill.)
Thursday, November 7 (Semifinals)
#3 Millikin def. #2 Illinois Wesleyan 22-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 15-10
#1 Carthage def. #5 Augustana 25-14, 25-11, 25-17
Saturday, November 9 (Championship)
#1 Carthage def. #3 Millikin 21-25, 25-10, 22-25, 25-11, 15-12
 
2019 AUGUSTANA VOLLEYBALL SUPERLATIVES
CCIW ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS: Grace Bialobok (1st team); Jessica Nguyen, Brooke Harmon (2nd team)
ALL-TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS: Grace Bialobok, CCIW Tournament
CCIW ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE: Grace Bialobok, Taylor Curley, Olivia Doak, Madison Glatz, Brooke Harmon, Laura Heuermann, Brooke Keegan, Savana Sparks
CCIW Player of the Week: Grace Bialobok, Offense, 9/24/19; Jessica Nguyen, Defense, 9/24/19
NCAA TEAM TOP 25 – TEAM
None
NCAA STATISTICAL TOP 50 – INDIVIDUAL
Total attacks: 1282, Grace Bialobok, 20th
Digs per set: 5.77, Jessica Nguyen, 25th
Attacks per set: 11.35, Grace Bialobok, 30th
Total kills: 426, Grace Bialobok, 31st
Total Digs: 617, Jessica Nguyen, 32nd
Kills per set: 3.77, Grace Bialobok, 44th
CCIW STATISTICAL LEADERS – TEAM
None
CCIW STATISTICAL TOP 5 – INDIVIDUAL
Points per set: 4.38, Grace Bialobok, 1st
Kills per set: 4.07, Grace Bialobok, 1st
Assists per set: 9.29, Olivia Doak, 3rd
Digs per set: 5.65, Jessica Nguyen, 3rd
 
INDIVIDUAL TOP TEN LISTS
CAREER
Digs per set: 4.76, Jessica Nguyen, 2nd
Block assists: 216, Grace Bialobok, 9th
Assists per set: 6.37, Olivia Doak, 9th
Aces per set: 0.35, Olivia Doak, 10th
 
SINGLE SEASON
Kills per set: 3.77, Grace Bialobok, 4th
Digs: 617, Jessica Nguyen, 4th
Digs per set: 5.77, Jessica Nguyen, 4th
Kills: .279, Grace Bialobok, 6th
 
TEAM AWARDS
MVP: Grace Bialobok
Most Improved: Laura Heuermann
Augie Award:  Madi Glatz
JV MVP: Abby Phalen
JV Most Improved Caroline Hurst
JV Augie Award: Madison Crawford