WAUKESHA, Wis. -- The Augustana Vikings women's volleyball team will hit the road for the final time of the regular season on Friday, October 27 as they begin a two-day, three-match stay in Wisconsin. The Vikings will take on CCIW foe Carroll on Friday before facing Edgewood and MSOE in Milwaukee on Saturday.

Augustana enters the weekend with an 18-5 overall record and 3-3 mark in conference. The team is coming off a come-from-behind five-set win over Dubuque on Tuesday, erasing a 2-1 match deficit as well as an 8-1 fifth-set hole to claim the victory. The Vikings took the first set by a score of 25-23 before falling in the second by an identical margin. After Dubuque won the third, 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 Syd Krueger and Emily 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.

On Friday, the Vikings will take on the Carroll Pioneers, who sit with an overall record of 13-12 and are 1-5 in the CCIW. Carroll recently saw its five-match winning streak come to an end, falling in consecutive sets to Carthage on Saturday. During their five-match winning streak, the Pioneers dropped just three combined sets, securing two sweeps over Wheaton and Lawrence during that span. Friday will be just Carroll's fifth contest inside their home arena this year, where they are 1-3.

The Vikings are 19-7 all-time against the Pioneers, but dropped last season's meeting in Rock Island by a score of 3-1 to snap a three-match winning streak in the series for Augie. The Vikings have won six of the last eight encounters. Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

On Saturday, Augie will face two non-conference foes in Milwaukee, beginning with the Edgewood Eagles at 2 p.m. The Eagles enter the weekend with a 17-7 overall record and 10-1 mark in conference. The team has won three in a row and will face Dominican on Thursday before Saturday's tri-match. Edgewood has six common opponents with Augustana this season, earning wins over Loras, Rose-Hulman, Carthage, and Dubuque. The Eagles fell to UW-Whitewater and North Park.

Saturday will be the ninth all-time meeting between Augustana and Edgewood, with each winning four times. Augie won the most recent meeting back in 2021 by a score of 3-0.

At 4 p.m., the Vikings will take on the MSOE Red Raiders to close out the weekend. MSOE sits with a record of 5-16 and is the midst of eight straight losses. The Red Raiders were defeated by Benedictine in their most recent outing and are still searching for their first win in conference. MSOE is 0-3 vs. CCIW opponents this season, falling to Carthage, Millikin, and North Central.

Augustana has won both of the all-time meetings against MSOE, with the latest coming in 2019, a five-set win.

Live coverage for the entire weekend can be found here.