ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana women's volleyball will conclude their 2021 season this weekend when they host the annual Pumpkin Bash invitational tournament. The Pumpkin Bash will include matches featuring the host Vikings as well as teams from Benedictine, Simpson, Edgewood, Coe, and Dominican.
 
The Vikings will begin play with a match against the Benedictine Eagles. Benedictine enters the weekend with a record of 15-11 overall and 10-3 in their league schedule. The Eagles have won their last three contests including a 3-0 sweep of Rockford University in their most recent match.
 
Two Eagle players have recorded more than 200 kills including Kaitlyn Estopare with 225 and Brooke Huizenga with 208. Elsewhere, the Eagle offense has benefitted from two stellar setters, Jamie Janczak and Alyssa Mojica, with a combined 815 assists. Defensively, Courtney Levy leads Benedictine with 323 digs and Hannah Griffith has recorded a team-high 76 blocks.
 
Augustana and Benedictine have split their two previous meetings with the Eagles sweeping the most recent match in 2019.
 
Simpson has had a middling season in the American Rivers Conference and brings a 7-12 overall mark and 4-4 conference record into the weekend. The Storm are currently on a four-game losing skid including three consecutive losses coming via sweep.
 
Jessica Jacobs leads the Storm with 268 kills to her credit. Marissa Salber has been a key contributor to the Simpson scoring effort with an impressive 523 assists. Defensively, Iman Ghalibaf leads the back line with 287 digs while Elizabeth Conroy and Megan LeMay have been most effective in the blocking game.
 
Augie has had the upper hand in the all-time series with Simpson. The Vikings are 5-0 in the teams' history with three of those winning happening in 3-0 fashion.
 
Lastly, the Vikings will take on Edgewood College on Saturday afternoon to complete the weekend's action. The Eagles enter the Pumpkin Bash with a 17-9 overall record and an 8-5 mark in their league games. Edgewood has won three of their last four contests with their only loss in that stretch coming in a five set battle.
 
Edgewood has been led by hitter Mackenzie Doherty and a dynamic pair setters in Taylor Salmon and Abigail Hoffmann. Doherty has recorded a team-high 325 kills. Salmon leads the Eagles with 590 assists while Hoffmann is second in that category with 444. Hoffmann also leads the squad in service aces with 40. Salmon is also second in digs with 233 behind Lea Bunch's 486.
 
Augustana trails Edgewood 2-1 in the all-time series. The Vikings' lone win in the match-up's history came in the most recent tilt in 2018.
 
Game Coverage (all times listed in CST)

• Game Times
  • Friday
    • 4:00 P.M. – Augustana vs. Benedictine
    • 6:00 P.M. – Benedictine vs. Simpson
    • 8:00 P.M. – Simpson vs. Augustana
  • Saturday
    • 11:00 A.M. (Court 1) – Edgewood vs. Coe
    • 11:00 A.M. (Court 2) – Simpson vs. Dominican
    • 1:00 P.M. (Court 1) – Edgewood vs. Augustana
    • 1:00 P.M. (Court 2) – Dominican vs. Coe
• Location: Roy J. Carver Center, Rock Island, Ill.
• Live video
• Live stats

Follow us on social media for in-game score updates at @augieathletics.