ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings women's volleyball team will look to extend their winning streak on Thursday, September 7 when they host the Knox Prairie Fire in their home opener. The team will have a quick turnaround and head to Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday for matchups against Illinois College and No. 23 Coe.

Augustana is currently receiving votes in the latest AVCA DIII poll after putting together a perfect 3-0 weekend, which included a true road victory over Colorado College, a team receiving votes at the time. Augie jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead against the Tigers, but withstood consecutive set wins from the home team to force a fifth and final set. The Vikings held on with a 15-10 in the deciding game to pull off the win. Later in the evening, Augie defeated Wartburg in four sets to make it a 2-0 start to the 2023 Pikes Peak Challenge.

On Saturday, Augustana secured another five-set thriller, this time alternating set wins with Hardin-Simmons before a big scoring run in the fifth gave them their third victory of the weekend. It is the first 3-0 start for the Vikings since the 2014 season. Grace Vranicar and Emily Schipper were both named to the Pikes Peak All-Tournament Team.

Augie will host Knox inside the Carver Center for the third straight year on Thursday. The Prairie Fire currently sit at 0-3 on the season, falling in consecutive sets in their first two contests before dropping 3-1 to Bethany Lutheran in their most recent outing. Knox finished the 2022 season with a 6-17 overall record. Augie holds a 31-9 record in the all-time season and defeated the Prairie Fire in 2022 in the season opener in five sets. The Vikings have won four of the last five meetings. Start time on Thursday is scheduled for 6 p.m.

On Friday, the Vikings will head to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the Mabel Lee Invite hosted by Coe. Their first matchup will be against Illinois College, who sport a 4-1 mark this season. The team won their first four contests of the year before dropping a 3-2 match with Greenville in their most recent outing. All four of the team's wins have come at home. The Vikings hold an 8-3 advantage in the all-time series, with their last meeting coming in 2017, a 3-0 victory for Augie. Start time is scheduled for 6 p.m.

The Vikings will round out Friday night with a showdown against the No. 23 ranked Coe Kohawks, who sit 2-1 on the year. Coe spent opening weekend in St. Paul, Minn., knocking off Concordia-Wisconsin and Bethel. Their lone loss came in four sets to host school and No. 5 ranked Northwestern. The Kohawks posted a 27-6 record last season and qualified for the NCAA DIII Tournament, falling the first round to UW-Stevens Points. Augustana is 13-11 all-time against Coe, but has dropped four of the last five encounters. The Kohawks won at home last season by a score of 3-1.

Live coverage of all three matches can be found here.