ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Coach
Mike Ducey's Augustana volleyball team took just an hour Saturday to defeat Illinois Wesleyan in straight sets at Carver Center. The Vikings improved to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the CCIW.
IWU's Michael Eastman had a kill to put his team up 1-0 in game one, but a service error followed and Augustana added another five points to take control.
Caleb Minnis (Downers Grove South HS, Downers Grove, Ill.) had a solo and an assisted block as the Vikings went up 6-1. The teams then traded points until the hosts captured seven of eight to go up 16-7. A
Sanchit Khaitan (Glenbard North HS, Bloomingdale, Ill.) service ace extended the margin to double digits (19-9) and Minnis and
Jarod Hesse (Grayslake North HS, Villa Park, Ill.) teamed up on a block that gave Augustana its biggest lead at 23-10. Set point in a 25-14 Viking win came via a Titan service error.
Augustana took control in game two with a 5-0 run that took the score from 11-8 to 16-8. Minnis and
Gary Dodovich (St. Benedict HS, Chicago, Ill.) each had a kill. A
Luis Zavala (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) service ace eventually extended the advantage to 21-11, but K.J. Johnson had a kill and an ace in a 6-1 IWU run that pulled the Titans to within 22-17. However, Minnis added two more kills and a
Benjamin Schultz (Sunset HS, Portland, Ore.) service ace provided set point in a 25-18 Viking win.
Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.) and Dodovich each had a pair of kills as the hosts built an 8-4 lead in set three. After an Eastman kill, Murphy answered with three straight in a 5-0 Augustana run that made it 13-5. After a Viking service error, Ducey's bunch ran off five more points consecutively, with Murphy contributing two more kills. His eighth of the game made it 19-7. An IWU service error provided match point as Augustana captured the set by a score of 25-11.
Murphy finished with 14 kills with just a single error in 21 swings, good for a .619 hitting percentage. Khaitan doled out 26 assists and had three aces. Dodovich had eight digs and Minnis was in on four blocks. All were match bests. Eastman had five kills for the Titans.
On Tuesday, March 2, Augustana hosts Loras in a CCIW match at Carver Center beginning at 7:00 p.m.
