MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Coach Mike Ducey's Augustana volleyball team got the 2021 season underway on Saturday, suffering a five-set loss to Milwaukee School of Engineering at Hotchkin Arena. The Vikings (0-1) will be back in action at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 9, taking on Fontbonne in St. Louis, Missouri.
 
Senior Gary Dodovich (St. Benedict HS, Chicago, Ill.) had two kills and Augustana got aces from freshman Max Sellers (Edwardsville HS, Edwardsville, Ill.) and sophomore Jarod Hesse (Grayslake North HS, Lake Villa, Ill.) on its way to a 7-3 lead in set five. The Raiders rallied to tie it at 10-all on a Lucas Miller kill and took their first lead (12-11) since 2-1 on another by Austyn Bella. The teams traded points until a Dodovich kill and an MSOE error gave the Vikings a match-point opportunity with a 14-13 edge. Following a Raider timeout, Miller tied it with a kill and Jacob Sirny and Bella teamed up on a block to put the hosts in front 15-14. They captured match point on another block by Sirny and Tyler Christensen.
 
Trailing 3-2 in set one, MSOE took advantage of three straight Viking errors to go up 5-3, a lead the Raiders wouldn't relinquish. The margin reached seven points on three occasions, the last being at 24-17 on a Sirny service ace. Bella's kill closed out a 25-20 win for the hosts.
 
Augustana led by as many as six points (12-6) in game two before MSOE won five straight to get back into it. It was nip-and-tuck from that point on. Serving for set point with a 24-23 lead, the Raiders committed an attack error that opened the door for the visitors and they took advantage. Junior Luis Zavala (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) had consecutive kills to give Ducey's bunch a 26-24 win.
 
MSOE used a 5-0 run to go ahead 9-4 in game three and the Vikings wouldn't get closer than four points the rest of the way. Alex Cretors' kill provided set point in a 25-21 Raider win.
 
Augustana forced a fifth set by claiming the fourth by a score of 25-22. The Vikings benefitted from three straight MSOE errors to go up 23-20. Set point came on a kill by Zavala.
 
Dodovich finished with a match-high 15 kills. Senior Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.) chipped in with 12 and Zavala 10. Junior Sanchit Khaitan (Glenbard North HS, Bloomingdale, Ill.) recorded a match-best 39 assists and senior Brett Kliegl's (Neuqua Valley HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.) 17 digs were a match-high as well.
 
Bella (13), Miller (32) and Daniel Drag (14) led the Raiders in kills, assists and digs, respectively. Sirny was in on a match-high 10 blocks.