NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings women's volleyball team have advanced to the CCIW Tournament semifinals following a 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 25-18) victory over the North Central Cardinals on Tuesday.
Augie stormed back to claim the opening set after trailing for a majority of the way. After holding a slight 4-3 differential, the Vikings did not see the lead until the 23-22 mark, erasing a five-point deficit along the way. Augustana snagged four of the final five points, and six of the last eight, to squeak out the important opening-game win. North Central responded with a 25-18 win in set two to even the match at 1-1 after two games complete.
In the third, the Vikings saw two separate four-point holes early on, but took the lead with a 5-0 spurt at the 12-11 mark. From there, the two teams traded scores until the Cardinals pulled ahead to secure a late 21-18 advantage. Again, it was Augustana with a late run down the stretch, tallying seven of the final eight points scored to steal the third set with a 25-22 victory.
Jaden Julius had three of her math-high 15 kills during the 7-1 run.
It was all Augustana in the fourth and final frame as the Vikings bounced back from an early 4-1 deficit to take the lead, never trailing the rest of the way. The Vikings saw their margin grow to six at 19-13 before stretching it to eight at 24-16 to face match point. North Central grabbed two consecutive scores, but
Alexis Richards ended any comeback threat with a kill to give the Vikings the match win and send them into the next round.
Three different Vikings posted double-digit kills in the win as
Emily Schipper was one behind Julius with 14 of her own. Richards also added 10.
Grace Vranicar had a season-best 29 digs, while
Amelie Baehr-Ross tied her season-high in assists with 44. Baehr-Ross also eclipsed 1,000 career assists in the win.
With the victory, Augustana earns their first conference-tournament win since 2019. The team will face No. 1 seeded Carthage on Thursday, November 3 with a trip to the CCIW Tournament championship on the line. Start time is still to be announced from Kenosha, Wis.
