ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings women's water polo will play in their first home contest of the season on Saturday, March 11 when they take on the McKendree Bearcats for the second time this season.

Augustana enters Saturday ranked No. 5 in the latest DIII national poll after posting a 2-2 record at the Claremont Convergence last weekend. The Vikings picked up two wins over top 10 opponents, including a 9-7 victory over No. 4 Chapman in the team's opening contest. Augustana defeated No. 10 Occidental in the final game of the weekend. Casey Barragan earned CWPA Player of the Week and Co-Rookie of the Week honors after accumulating 12 goals in four games to go along with 11 drawn exclusions and five steals. Barragan notched a weekend-best seven goals against No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Lizzie Pelzman also earned her third Defensive Player of the Week award following the weekend. She played all 128 possible minutes in goal for the Vikings in California, registering double-digit saves in three of the four contests. She finished with 16 saves and allowed just seven goals in the team's win over No. 4 Chapman, boasting a save percentage of .696. She also swiped five steals on the weekend. 

McKendree currently sits 8-8 on the season and is in the midst of a two-game losing streak. The Bearcats also attended the Claremont Convergence last weekend, posting a 1-3 record. The team defeated Occidental in their second contest of the invitational before dropping back-to-back games to Biola and Azusa Pacific. McKendree began the season 0-4, but responded with seven straight wins before dropping four of their last five. 

The Vikings are 0-3 all-time against the Bearcats, which includes a 19-6 loss at McKendree to begin the 2023 season. The Bearcats picked up a win in Rock Island last season by a final of 10-9. 

Start time is scheduled for 1 p.m.