THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.— Coach Mike Ducey's Augustana volleyball team got its West Coast trip started on the right foot Friday, defeating Westcliff 3-1 at the Soiland Rec Center on the campus of California Lutheran University. The Vikings improved to 5-3 on the season, while the Warriors dropped to 3-2. On Saturday, February 1, Augustana will take on UC-Santa Cruz and the host Kingsmen—both of which are receiving votes in the most recent AVCA poll—at Cal Lutheran.
 
After falling behind 3-0, the Vikings came back to take the first game 25-21. A Ryan Hirschel (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) kill snapped a 21-all tie and sparked a 4-0 Augustana closing run. Set point came via a Westcliff attack error.
 
Hirschel had a pair of kills and Dillan Baum (Warrensburg Latham HS, Decatur, Ill.) a kill and a service ace as the Vikings took an 11-6 lead in game two. However, a kill by Dale Irvin ignited a 9-1 Warrior run as Westcliff went up 15-12. The margin reached 24-19 when Ghie Lubrica and Sean Collins combined on a block, but Augustana fought off four set points before a Collins kill finally finished off a 25-23 Warrior win.
 
After dropping the first point, the Vikings took control of the third set by capturing eight straight. Baum had consecutive aces in the run. Hirschel later delivered a pair of aces in a 5-0 spree that pushed Augustana's advantage to 15-3. Westcliff would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way. Junior Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.) and freshman Jarod Hesse (Grayslake North HS, Lake Villa, Ill.) teamed up on a block for set point as the Vikings won 25-15.
 
Ducey's bunch closed things out with a 25-22 win in set four. The teams traded 5-0 runs early and the score was tied at 16-all after they swapped 3-0 spurts. Augustana finally took the lead for good at 18-17 on a Warrior attack error. Westcliff trailed 23-22 before consecutive kills by Baum and sophomore Luis Zavala (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) closed out the match.
 
Baum led the Vikings with 11 kills and three aces. Zavala added nine kills. Hirschel's line included eight kills, 14 assists, three aces, six digs and three blocks. Sophomore Sanchit Khaitan (Glenbard North HS, Bloomingdale, Ill.) had a team-high 22 assists, junior Brett Kliegl (Neuqua Valley HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.) a team-best 10 digs and Hesse matched Hirschel's three blocks.
 
Jacob Vander Beek led Westcliff with 10 kills.