ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.) had 16 kills and Sanchit Khaitan (Glenbard North HS, Bloomingdale, Ill.) 48 assists Tuesday to lead Augustana to a four-set win over Loras at Carver Center. The Vikings, winners of four in a row, improved to 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the CCIW, while the Duhawks dropped to 3-3 on the season and 2-2 in the conference.
 
A Murphy kill put the hosts up 2-1 in set one and they would lead the rest of the way. The advantage reached 13-7 after consecutive Loras attack errors and a kill by Gary Dodovich (St. Benedict HS, Chicago, Ill.) later extended it to 17-10. The Duhawks got a pair of service aces in claiming six of the next seven points to get as close as 18-16, but a Khaitan kill turned the tide back in Augustana's favor and another by Dodovich eventually finished off a 25-20 Viking win.
 
The teams played bonus volleyball in game two, as the Vikings fought off four set points before falling 29-27. It was tight throughout. A Joe Horn ace finished off a 3-0 run that put Loras up 13-10, but Murphy had three kills as Augustana responded by taking eight of the next 11 points and the margin never exceeded two points the rest of the way. A Luis Zavala (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill.) kill tied things at 22-all and began a string 12 consecutive points that the teams traded. Set point for the Duhawks finally came via a Viking error.
 
Augustana took control early in game three. Jarod Hesse (Grayslake North HS, Lake Villa, Ill.) had a kill sparking a 13-5 run that put the Vikings up 16-8. Coach Mike Ducey got five kills from five different players in the spurt. Loras took three straight points to cut it to 16-11, but the hosts answered with six of the next eight to pull away. A Dodovich kill delivered set point in a 25-17 Augustana win.
 
The Duhawks went on a 4-0 run to take a 17-12 lead in game three, but the Vikings got four more Murphy kills as they answered with a 7-1 burst to climb ahead 19-18. An Augustana service error tied it, but the hosts responded by taking four of the next five points and went up 23-20 on a Caleb Minnis (Downers Grove South HS, Downers Grove, Ill.) kill. Loras pulled within a point at 23-22 before Dodovich and Zavala sandwiched kills around a Viking service error to close out the 25-23 win. Zavala's accounted for match point.
 
Dodovich complimented Murphy's performance with 10 kills and Zavala and Minnis added nine each. Augustana hit a crisp .336 for the match. Brett Kliegl (Neuqua Valley HS, Bolingbrook, Ill.) chipped in with 16 digs and Zavala led the way with four blocks. Dorian Fiorenza had 15 kills for the Duhawks.
 
Next up for Ducey's bunch is a home date versus North Central at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 6.