ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The Augustana men's volleyball team traveled to St. Louis for a non-conference tri-match on Saturday, besting the St. Norbert Green Knights 3-2 before falling to the Fontbonne Griffins 3-0.
Augie defeated St. Norbert in their first contest of the afternoon, erasing a 2-0 deficit and taking a close fifth set 15-12 to win the match. Early in the opening frame, the Green Knights took a 5-2 advantage. After remaining within striking distance and with the help of back-to-back offensive mistakes from St. Norbert, Augie pushed ahead to seize the lead at 17-16 midway through the set. The Green Knights rallied with a four-point scoring spree, but the Vikings answered with a three-point run of their own, tying the game at 21 points apiece. The Green Knights then closed the game on a four-point run to clinch the first set. The Vikings also lost the second set, with the Green Knights breaking a 19-19 tie with a 6-1 scoring surge to win the game by five.
The Vikings battled back from a two-set deficit to win the next three games. A five-point scoring outburst from the Augie while behind 17-16 in the third set gave them life as they gained a four-point advantage. The two sides alternated service victories until the Vikings won the game and brought the series to 2-1. With the score 17-16 in Augustana's favor in the fourth, the Vikings added three points in a row to grab a 20-16 lead. Augie and St. Norbert traded points the rest of the way, resulting in a 25-21 Vikings win.
St. Norbert took an early 7-3 lead against the Vikings in the final frame, but Augie replied with a four-service run to tie the game at seven. The Vikings then stepped on the gas, going on a 6-3 run to build a three-point cushion. The Green Knights won two rallies before the Vikings closed the door with back-to-back points to reverse sweep St. Norbert in the match.
The Vikings recorded 51 kills in the contest, hitting at a .155 percent clip on their attempts. Zach Moreano led the Vikings with a team-high 12 kills, followed by Aidan Bolen, who recorded 10. Matthew Degnan was the Vikings' leading distributor, assisting with 39 service wins. In the match, twelve Vikings secured digs, with Max Sellers producing nine.
Augustana was then defeated 3-0 by the Fontbonne Griffins in the day's second match. Augie struggled to get going offensively in the first game, with the Griffins jumping out to a 10-4 lead. The Vikings replied with a 3-1 run before yielding to a 7-3 Fontbonne scoring surge, which put the home team up by eight points. The Griffins won the set 25-17 after closing on a 4-2 run.
Augie fell behind early again in the second frame, this time by a 5-2 score. The two teams battled before the Griffins went on an 8-2 scoring run to take a 16-9 lead. The Vikings never found a rhythm as Fontbonne cruised to a 25-15 set victory. Augie kept the third game much tighter, trailing by two points late at 21-19. Fontbonne took full advantage of their edge, trading service wins until they secured the win by a score of 25-22.
Moreano again led the Vikings with eight kills, followed by Bolen's six. Degnan assisted on 23 points, while Sellers again was the team leader in digs with nine.
Augustana moves to 5-3 overall following Saturday's action. The team will be back in action on Tuesday, February 14, when they face cross-river rival St. Ambrose in the Vikings home opener. Start time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from the Roy J. Carver Center.
