NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings men's volleyball team will face a pair of opponents on the road this upcoming weekend, beginning with the undefeated and No. 4 ranked North Central Cardinals on Saturday, followed by a non-conference tilt against the Benedictine Eagles on Sunday.

Augie is coming off of a 3-0 defeat to the No. 15 ranked Loras Duhawks on Tuesday. Loras took control of the first and third sets early on and erased a three-point deficit in the second to help record the sweep over the Vikings. The Vikings charged back with four straight to bring it to a one-point margin in that second set but just fell short at a final score of 25-23 to give the Duhawks a commanding lead. Loras quickly doubled up Augie in set three with eight of the first 12 points and hovered around a five-point margin for a good portion of the game. The Vikings inched closer, cutting the deficit to three at 16-13, but the Duhawks maintained their cushion and eventually locked up the set and match with a 25-19.

Aiden Bond led the offensive efforts for Augustana, finishing with a team-high eight kills. Aidan Bolen added six.

North Central enters weekend play with a perfect 9-0 record and 2-0 mark in conference. The Cardinals are up to No. 4 in the latest AVCA DIII poll and received one first-place vote. North Central has lost just four total sets this season and have wins over two top five teams, one of which at the time was Benedictine, who the Vikings will face on Sunday. In their most recent outing, the Cardinals defeated Aurora at home 3-0 (25-19, 30-28, 25-20) to keep their perfect season in tact. Augustana is just 1-6 all-time versus North Central. The two teams split their matchups last season, each winning in their home building.

Start time on Saturday is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. from Naperville.

On Sunday, the Vikings will face the Eagles of Benedictine, who were once ranked in the AVCA top five and currently sit 5-4 this season. The Eagles began the year with losses in three of their first four matches, two of which came against CCIW schools Loras and North Central, who are both ranked nationally at the moment. Benedictine has one top ten win on the year, a 3-1 victory over No. 10 MIT. The Eagles have won their last three contests. Augustana and Benedictine have each won two matches apiece in their short history, with the Vikings winning the most recent in 2020 on the road by  a score of 3-2.

Start time is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. from Lisle, Ill. 

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