ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The Augustana Vikings men's volleyball team earned a 1-1 split on Saturday to close out their trip at the Fontbonne Invitational, following up a 3-0 loss to the Trine Thunder with a 3-0 sweep over the Concordia-Chicago Cougars.
Match one vs. Trine (L 25-19, 25-20, 25-22)
The Vikings faced off with the Thunder in their first match of the day. Augie was the first to ten points in the opening set and held a lead of 15-13 before Trine scored five consecutive points to take control of the game. Overall, the Thunder run reached 8-3 and Trine never lost the lead once they gained it, holding on for the 25-19 victory. The Thunder used their momentum to close out set one into the second frame, scoring the first five points for the early advantage. The Vikings got within three points on a few different instances throughout the set, but Trine again held on to take a 2-0 lead in the match following a 25-20 win.
In game three, the Thunder held a lead up until the Vikings tied the score at 11-11. Augie was unable to get out in front and Trine countered every run with one of their own, securing a 25-22 victory for the 3-0 match win.
Aidan Bolen posted a team-high eight kills for Augustana in the match vs. Trine to go with ten digs.
Max Sellers also added 11 digs to spearhead the Vikings' defensive effort.
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Match two vs. Concordia-Chicago (W 25-14, 25-22, 25-18)
Augie bounced back in their second match of the day and final contest of the weekend, defeating the CUC Cougars in consecutive sets. The Vikings found themselves in a couple of small, early deficits, but rattled off six straight scores in the middle of the frame to turn a two-point deficit into a four-point advantage. Later on, Augustana used another five-point outburst to pull away for good and take the first set by double digits at 25-14.
Despite a much closer final score in the second set, the Vikings were in control the entire way. Augie never trailed and saw one tie with Concordia at 1-1 before jumping in front. The Vikings grew their margin to as many as eight in the set and fended off a late Cougars run to hang on with the three-point victory and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
It was a similar showing in set three as the Vikings never trailed and saw just one tie early on. Leading 7-6, Augie scored 11 of the set's next 13 points to cushion their advantage to 18-8. The Cougars got within six, but ran out of room on the scoreboard and the Vikings completed the sweep with a 25-18 victory.
Ben Schultz led a balanced attack for Augustana, tallying a team-high six kills. Bolen,
Josh Van Essen, and
Matthew Degnan all added five, while Sellers secured double-digit digs at ten through the three games played. Degnan also had a match-high 20 assists.
With the results, Augustana sits at 4-6 overall. The team will begin CCIW action in their next outing on Tuesday, February 15 against Millikin on the road. Start time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from Decatur, Ill.
