WAUKESHA, Wis. -- The Augustana Vikings women's volleyball team picked up a road win over the Carroll Pioneers on Friday night, clinching a spot in the upcoming CCIW Tournament with a 3-1 victory.
The first set belonged to Augustana after the Vikings grew an early lead to as many as five before holding on for the 25-21 win. Augustana held a 16-11 advantage halfway through the opening game, but saw its differential dip to just a point at 19-18. A few rallies later, the team grabbed four of the final six scores, all via kills from
Jaden Julius to secure the four-point triumph. Carroll bounced back in the second set with a 10-point victory to even the match score at one win apiece.
Augie fell behind early in the third set, using a timeout after the Pioneers grabbed a quick 8-2 advantage. The Vikings slowly chipped away and eventually drew within two points on three different occasions before a 5-0 scoring run turned a three-point deficit into a two-point lead at 19-17. The two teams continued their back-and-forth battle until finding themselves in a deadlock at 23-23. Carroll moved to set point following a score on the next rally, but a kill from
Kira Nelson put Augie back even before an error from the Pioneers and a kill from
Emily Schipper sealed the 26-24 win for the Vikings.
An evenly-played start to the fourth set ensued as the two teams played to a 10-10 tie through the first 20 points scored. After a Carroll point, Augie answered with four in a row to land its biggest lead of the set to that point. Another scoring outburst soon followed to move the cushion to seven before hanging on for a 25-20 victory to claim the match win.
Three players cracked double figures in kills for the Vikings, led by Schipper with 16, Julius with 13, and Nelson with 10. Both Schipper and
Grace Vranicar tallied a match-high 19 digs, while
Amelie Baehr-Ross secured 32 assists.
With the win, Augie improves to 19-5 overall and 4-3 in the CCIW. The team will be back in action on Saturday for a tri-match against Edgewood and MSOE.
