ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Augustana jumped on the hosts early Tuesday afternoon and cruised to a straight-set victory over Fontbonne at Mabee Gymnasium. Coach Mike Ducey's squad defeated the Griffins by scores of 25-13, 25-19 and 25-18 to even its record at 1-1 on the season. The setback was the first suffered by Fontbonne in six outings this year.
 
Junior Luis Zavala (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) had a pair of kills and a solo block as the Vikings raced to an 8-0 lead in set one. The margin reached double digits (13-3) on a kill by junior setter Sanchit Khaitan (Glenbard North HS, Bloomingdale, Ill.) and he had another to extend it to 18-6, the largest of the game. Augustana would match that spread five more times, the last on a Griffin error that accounted for set point.
 
The visitors went up 4-2 in the second game before Fontbonne answered with four straight points to take its only lead of the match. Junior Caleb Minnis (Downers Grove South HS, Downers Grove, Ill.) and Griffin Joseph Huster traded kills before the Vikings went on a 5-0 run behind two more kills and a block from Zavala. Augustana gradually built on its lead. It reached six points (20-14) on a Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.) kill and finished there, as set point came on a Fontbonne service error.
 
Minnis and sophomore Jarod Hesse (Grayslake North HS, Lake Villa, Ill.) each had a kill to help stake the Vikings to a 5-1 lead in game three. Khaitan set Murphy for a kill that extended the advantage to 16-6 and the hosts would get no closer than six points the rest of the way. A Minnis kill provided match point.
 
Augustana recorded 40 kills and just nine errors in 71 swings to set a school record for attack percentage at .437. Zavala finished with match highs of 12 kills (on a crisp .588 attack percentage) and four blocks (three solo). Khaitan's 31 assists were a match-best, as were senior Brett Kliegl's (Neuqua Valley HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.) eight digs.
 
Cameron Graves had seven kills to lead the Griffins.
 
Ducey's bunch is in action next on Saturday, February 13. The Vikings travel to River Forest, Illinois to take on Dominican—ranked sixth in the nation in the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Division III preseason poll. That match is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m.