BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Coach Mike Ducey's Augustana squad won for the eighth time in its last nine outings Wednesday, defeating Illinois Wesleyan in straight sets at the Shirk Center. The Vikings moved to 9-4 on the season and 8-2 in the CCIW, while the Titans dropped to 2-12 overall and 1-8 in the conference. On Saturday, March 27, Augustana visits Loras for a 3:00 p.m. match.
 
K.J. Johnson had two kills as IWU jumped in front 7-2 in game one. The Vikings whittled the deficit, pulling even at 12-all on a Justin Murphy (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.) service ace. They took their first lead at 17-16 and claimed the next two points to grab a 19-16 lead on a kill by freshman Marcus Rembert (Plainfield North HS, Plainfield, Ill.). The Titans fought back to tie it at 21-all on a Michael Eastman kill, but Gary Dodovich (St. Benedict HS, Chicago, Ill.) answered with one and Augustana got set point in a 25-22 win via a Jarod Hesse (Grayslake North HS, Villa Park, Ill.) ace.
 
Four different Vikings had kills as Ducey's crew took a 7-3 lead in game two. The Titans claimed four straight points to tie and it settled into a back-and-forth affair. Eventually, a Murphy kill and a Max Sellers (Edwardsville HS, Edwardsville, Ill.) ace bookended a 5-1 Augustana run that saw it go up 18-13. IWU would get no closer than the final four-point margin, as a Rembert kill gave the Vikings a 25-21 win.
 
Murphy opened game three with three straight kills and finished it with two in a row. His 16th of the night gave Augustana match point in a 25-17 win.
 
Other statistical leaders for the Vikings included Sanchit Khaitan (Glenbard North HS, Bloomingdale, Ill.), who had 35 assists, 10 digs and two aces and Hesse and John Cunningham (Hononegah HS, Roscoe, Ill.), who were each in on three blocks.
 
Johnson led Wesleyan with 13 kills.