ROCK ISLAND, Ill.—Sixth-ranked Milwaukee School of Engineering handed Augustana a three-set defeat Friday evening at Carver Center. The Vikings dropped to 7-5 on the season, while the Raiders improved to 6-0.
 
Sophomore Luis Zavala (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) had a pair of kills to help Augustana jump in front in set one. A kill by freshman Jarod Hesse (Grayslake North HS, Lake Villa, Ill.) put the Vikings up 9-6 and they still led 10-8 after another by junior Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.). MSOE ran off three straight points to take the lead and the game settled into a back-and-forth affair until the Raiders went on a 7-2 run to take a 20-15 advantage. Jake Christensen capped the spurt with consecutive service aces. Augustana answered by taking the next four points to pull within 20-19, but MSOE claimed five of the last six to win 25-20.
 
Ben Pung had a kill and two aces as the Raiders bolted to an 11-3 lead in set two. A Matthew Binkus kill extended the margin to double digits (21-11) for the second time before the Vikings got a pair of Jason Szara (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) kills in a 6-2 run that cut the deficit to 23-17. Jacob Sirny's kill stopped the momentum though and MSOE went on to win 25-18.
 
Augustana took a 7-4 lead in set three behind a pair of Gary Dodovich (St. Benedict HS, Chicago, Ill.) kills and there were 11 ties and four lead changes before a Christensen kill gave the visitors the lead for good at 17-16. MSOE won the next two points as well and the Vikings wouldn't get closer than two points the rest of the way. Match point in a 25-22 Raider win came on a kill by Binkus.
 
Zavala led Augustana with eight kills and Szara added seven. Ryan Hirschel (Libertyville HS, Libertyville, Ill.) and Sanchit Khaitan (Glenbard North HS, Bloomingdale, Ill.) dished out 18 and 14 assists, respectively and Matthew Schiferl (Wheeling HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) had a match-high 11 digs.
 
Pung and Austyn Bella had seven kills each for MSOE and Kalvin Fellows delivered 26 assists. Binkus was in on six of the Raiders' 11 blocks.
 
The Vikings' parade of nationally ranked opponents continues on Tuesday, February 18, when 10th-rated Carthage visits Carver Center to open CCIW play with a 7:00 p.m. match.