KENOSHA, Wis. -- The Augustana Vikings men's volleyball team fell in consecutive sets on Wednesday night, dropping a conference road match to the No. 3 ranked Carthage Firebirds by a score of 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-17).

The Firebirds hovered around a comfortable five-point advantage for a majority of the first half until a 5-0 run allowed them to double their margin, stretching a 15-10 lead to 20-10. Despite back-to-back points from the Vikings, a comeback effort was thwarted quickly as the home team grabbed five of the final six scores to earn the set one win.

Augustana tallied the first two points of the second set, but the Firebirds responded with a 10-2 scoring outburst to take control of the game. The lead got within five on multiple occasions, but for the second set in a row, Carthage used a mid-game run to double a 15-10 advantage to 10 points before stretching it even further. Augie again answered after the big spurt, this time with three straight points, but it was not enough and the Firebirds took a commanding 2-0 lead into the third.

The Vikings endure a couple more scoring runs in the third and the Firebirds went on to secure the match win with a 25-17 set three victory.

Aidan Bolen led Augustana with four kills. 

With the loss, the Vikings drop to 6-12 overall and 2-5 in CCIW action. The team will be back in action on Saturday, March 19 when they visit the Loras Duhawks in another conference matchup. Start time is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. from Dubuque, Iowa.