LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings women's volleyball team fell in a pair of neutral-site matches on Saturday, dropping contests to Illinois Tech 3-2 and Lakeland 3-1.
Match One (L 3-2 vs. Illinois Tech)
The Scarlet Hawks broke a 7-7 tie in the first set with a 6-1 run to pull away with a 25-14 win to take the early lead in the match. The Vikings had back-to-back wins in the second and third, holding Illinois Tech to just 12 and 11 points during those victories. Augie scored the first five of the second set after dropping the first and 15 of the first 19 points scored. The Vikings followed it up with a 14-0 run in the third to claim the 2-1 match lead.
Augustana found themselves just three points away from the win in set four, leading Illinois Tech 22-19 before the Scarlet Hawks tallied three straight to even it at 22. The Vikings grabbed the lead back on a kill from
Jaden Julius, but Tech strung together another three-score burst to notch a 25-23 win and force a fifth and final set. The Scarlet Hawks prevailed in the deciding game, scoring the first six points in the frame and eventually winning by that margin.
Julius had a match-high 12 kills in the opening match.
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Match Two (L 3-1 vs. Lakeland)
The Muskies snagged the first set of the match against the Vikings 25-17, but were met with a hard-fought victory from Augie in the second game to even the match at one win apiece. Tied at 21-21, each team traded points until Lakeland found themselves facing set point at 24-23. Augie came back with consecutive kills from Julius, followed by an attack error from the Muskies to give the Vikings a 27-25 win.
Lakeland pulled away late in the third and fourth sets to clinch the 3-1 win.
Julius led the Vikings with 14 kills in the match.
Caroline Hurst also had double figures with 13.
Leah Rizzo posted 19 assists.
With the loss, Augustana drops to 2-2 on the season. The team will be back in action on Wednesday, September 7 when they take on Central College on the road. Start time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
