BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Augustana men's volleyball team returns to conference play for a road battle against the Illinois Wesleyan Titans on Saturday, March 11.
The Vikings own a 9-6 record, 0-2 in conference, recently splitting their final tri-match of the season against Concordia-Chicago and Baldwin Wallace, both reaching a fifth set. In their opening matchup against the Cougars, Augie leaped to a 16-7 lead in the opening game behind a 10-3 scoring run. The Vikings snuffed out a Concordia comeback later in the set, spiking back-to-back kills to win the game 25-20. An extended second set favored the Cougars before Augie scored 10 of the last 16 points in the third game to win 26-24. Concordia grabbed the remaining two sets by less than two points to secure the contest. Augie hit at a .154 clip on their attack attempts, with Aidan Bolen leading the Vikings with 12 kills, followed by Ben Schultz and Garrett McNelis with 11 and 10, respectively. Matthew Degnan tallied a season-high 47 assists in the loss.
Augie defeated Baldwin Wallace 3-2 in their second contest of the day. The first three sets were each decided by five or more points, as Augustana took sets one and three by respective scores of 25-20 and 25-15, while Baldwin Wallace secured set two 25-15. The Yellow Jackets stole an extended fourth game 29-27. Augie leaped to a 7-4 advantage in the fifth set before Baldwin Wallace tied the game at 8-8. Three straight points reclaimed momentum for the Vikings as the team held a slight lead the rest of the way, hanging on for a 15-13 victory to split their tri-match. Augie hit .245 percent on their attack attempts, with Schultz pacing the Vikings with 11 kills. Max Sellers led the team with 10 digs, while Aiden Bond had nine. Degnan was again Augie's assist leader with 32.
Illinois Wesleyan enters Saturday's home bout with a 9-9 record, 0-3 in conference. The Titans are currently on a three-game losing streak, with all three defeats coming in CCIW competition. They most recently faced North Park, losing 3-0 by set scores of 25-19, 25-23, 25-17. Michael Eastman led the Titans' attack, registering 12 kills and hitting at a .188 clip. Illinois Wesleyan is hitting .160 percent as a team this season compared to a .189 clip from their opponents.
Augustana holds a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series against the Titans. In their most recent match, Illinois Wesleyan won for the first time in the rivalry, defeating the Vikings 3-1 in Bloomington on March 27, 2022. Bolen led Augie in kills with 11, while Josh Van Essen and Schultz had eight and seven, respectively. Sellers racked up a team-high 15 digs, while Degnan had 30 assists.
Start time from the Shirk Center is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The stream link can be found here.
