ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's volleyball team will stay in the Carver Center on Saturday, January 20 as they host the Concordia-Wisconsin Falcons. 

The Vikings sit with an overall record of 1-0 after defeating Concordia-Chicago on Thursday in three sets with scores of 25-18, 25-17, and 25-16. The Vikings grabbed an early 2-0 advantage in the first set from a kill by Sean Carlson, which was followed by an assisted block by both he and Ben Schultz. The Cougars narrowed the gap to 10-9, but Augie bounced back and generated a five-point opening. The Vikings kept their advantage and grew a lead of as many as eight before taking set one by a 25-18 final. 

The second set started with a five-point run from the Vikings until the Cougars grabbed two of their own. Augie maintained their lead and nearly doubled the score after a kill from Schultz made it a 15-8 score and they kept the separation to grab a 25-17 set. 

In the final set, the battle was neck-and-neck with an attack error from Augie allowing the Cougars to tie. The Vikings followed with three points to make the score 9-6, but Concordia returned the favor with three of their own to tie it back up at 9-9. The two teams traded the lead for several rallies, but the Vikings pulled away from a 14-13 score with five straight points. Quinby Dahl put the exclamation point on the 25-16 win with a match-sealing kill to give Augie the sweep in their season opener. 

Saturday will be the first time the teams will face off, with the Falcons returning to action after completing the 2023 season with a 15-10 overall record and 9-3 mark in the NACC. Concordia-Wisconsin starts its season at Loras on Friday, January 19 before taking on the Vikings. The Falcons were 6-6 last year in away games with their last loss being at Benedictine, where they were defeated 3-1. Within the CCIW, the Falcons took on North Park in February and earned a 3-2 victory. 

The first serve is set to begin at 1 p.m.