COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The Augustana Vikings women's volleyball picked up a pair of wins on their first day of competition in Colorado on Friday, defeating the host school Colorado College in five sets (25-17, 25-17, 24-26, 15-25, 15-10) before knocking off the Wartburg Knights by a score of 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18).

Match One vs. Colorado College

Playing a team that has posted a 211-21 record at home since 2008, the Vikings came out firing on all cylinders with back-to-back 25-17 set wins. After jumping out to a 12-5 lead, the Vikings withstood four straight scores from the Tigers before pushing the margin back out to seven shortly after. Augie never saw their cushion dip below five the rest of the way, capping off the opening-set victory with a Jenny Dunder kill to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead in the match. 

Another fast start in set two allowed the Vikings to build a lead and stay in front all the way until the end. Following a point from the Tigers, Augie answered with eight of the next 10 scores to take the early advantage. Colorado College hung around, but a 6-1 run in the middle of the set from Augustana turned the score from 15-13 to 21-14. The two teams traded points until the Vikings struck 25 to make it 2-0 in their favor in the match.

The Vikings narrowly missed out on ending the match in set three. A back-and-forth start to the set eventually turned into a game of runs as the two teams traded scoring outbursts before seeing the score knotted at 23 points apiece. Three of the final four points went to the home team as they squeaked out a 25-23 victory to extend the match. Colorado College kept their momentum alive with a double-digit set four win, setting up a fifth and deciding game to determine the outcome.

The home team broke away slightly to begin the final game, holding onto a 7-5 lead early on. The Vikings responded with six consecutive points, fueled by a service ace from Grace Vranicar and two blocks apiece from both Jaden Julius and Syd Krueger during that stretch. Kira Nelson added the team's 12th point on a kill before three straight errors from the Tigers sealed the five-set win for Augustana.

Emily Schipper was the team leader in kills with 14, followed close behind by Nelson with 10. Amelie Baehr-Ross notched 36 assists to lead the offensive attack to go with her 17 digs. Vranciar and Schipper both added double-digit dig numbers as well, finishing with 19 and 10.

Match Two vs. Wartburg

Both looking to pick up their second win of the day, Wartburg struck first in the night cap with a five-point opening set victory. Augustana bounced back in set two, flipping a 14-10 deficit into a 20-17 advantage. Once trailing 16-13, the Vikings tallied 12 points to the Knights' five down the stretch to even the match at one win apiece. 

Augustana faced another early deficit in game three, facing a 15-10 hole before eventually evening the score at 19-19. From there, the two teams each won three points to move their deadlock to 22-22. Consecutive kills from Julius put the Vikings at set point, with her accounting for the final point one rally later to give Augie a 25-23 victory. Julius finished with five kills in set three alone.

The first three points of set four belonged to Augustana, holding onto a slim lead for the first half of the frame. Leading 16-14, the Vikings rattled off six consecutive points to cushion their margin to eight. The Vikings held on to complete the seven-point win and make it two wins in a row to start the 2023 season.

Schipper and Julius both posted monster games in the kills category, boasting 16 and 13 while each hitting over .300 for the contest. Krueger finished her second match of the season assisting on five blocks and grabbing two solos. Baehr-Ross notched her second consecutive outing with 30 or more assists, also leading the team in digs with 13. 

With the wins, Augustana begins their season 2-0 for the second straight year. The Vikings will close out their trip to Colorado on Saturday with a single contest against Hardin-Simmons. Start time is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CDT.