ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings women's volleyball team stormed back from a 2-1 deficit on Tuesday to defeat the visiting Dubuque Spartans in five sets, their third five-set win over the Spartans in a row.

After a back-and-forth start to the opening game, the Spartans took command halfway through with a 7-0 scoring outburst to go ahead 14-8. The six-point margin quickly vanished as a 6-0 run from the Vikings evened the score and set up a close race to the finish line. Trailing 19-18, Augie rattled off four in a row and never lost the lead, eventually breaking a 23-23 deadlock with consecutive kills from Syd Krueger to claim the opening set win.

Dubuque answered in set two, erasing a small 21-19 deficit and mirroring Augie's first-game ending with back-to-back scores following a 23-23 tie. The Spartans grabbed the advantage in the match with a set three win, taking the contest's largest margin of victory of nine at 25-16.

Augie played catch-up early and often in game four, trailing from the beginning before evening the score at 12 points apiece. The Vikings overcame a 10-6 deficit during the span, which included kills from four different players. Augustana took its first lead in the frame later on at 15-14 once and for all, only allowing one tie the rest of the way on the following rally. The Vikings snagged the win by a score of 25-21 to force a fifth and deciding game. 

Five kills from Dubuque to kick off the final set led to a quick 8-1 advantage from the visitors, but the momentum shifted as the Vikings forced six errors from the Spartans and eventually tied the game at 9-9. Augustana continued their scoring run of six to run out in front by a score of 11-9 and force a Dubuque timeout, but two quick tallies from the Spartans out of the break brought the set even again. Two straight miscues from Dubuque put Augie back out ahead, clinching the match the following two plays with kills from Krueger and Schipper.

Defense was the story of the game for both sides as the Vikings hit .114 on the night, while the Spartans were just .109. Grace Vranicar tallied a career-high 42 digs in the win, while three others secured 13 or more. Schipper and Jaden Julius were the team leaders in kills, posting 17 and 14, while Amelie Baehr-Ross contributed 47 assists.

With the win, Augustana improves to 18-5 on the season. The team will dive back into CCIW action on Friday, October 27 when they visit Carroll.