ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's volleyball team was defeated in five sets on Saturday inside the Carver Center, falling to the MSOE Raiders.
The first set started with two ties until Augie grabbed a lead after a kill by Ty Heater to make the score 3-2. The Raiders evened the score at 7-7, but the Vikings took the following three points to create a 10-7 score. Both teams tied another six times before MSOE snatched a two-point lead with a score of 19-17, but after a timeout, Augie regained momentum to tie once again at 19-19. Neither team grabbed a lead for more than two points before the Raiders scored the final two points of the game to take the opener by a score of 26-24.
In another back-and-forth set, MSOE found an early advantage with a score of 3-1, but neither squad owned more than a two-point advantage as the score went even five times. The Vikings took a three-point advantage after a kill by Aidan Bolen to generate a 12-9 score and increased the gap to as much as four at 15-11. The Raiders closed the gap back to even with a 15-15 game and both teams tied six additional times until Augie secured the final three points to close out the second 25-22.
The Raiders regained the edge in the match, winning the third set 25-16.
The fourth set started with five ties until Augie grabbed a two-point advantage at 7-5. The Raiders eventually caught back up, deadlocking the score at 18 before three more ties ensued. After Augie jumped out in front 23-21, another tie game followed, but a block from Sean Carlson and a kill from Zach Moreano secured the set and forced a fifth and final frame.
In the fifth, MSOE grabbed the first two points and created a come-from-behind situation for the Vikings. Trailing 10-7, a three-point run from Augustana allowed them to catch back as a kill from Bolen tied the game to 10-10. The Raiders secured the following two points and kept the two-point lead throughout the game to take the fifth set by a score 15-13.
As a team, Augie hit .146 with Bolen leading with 12 kills and Colin Schaefer with 34 assists. Max Sellers finished with a career-best 24 digs.
With the loss, the Vikings move to a 3-1 overall record and will return to action on Monday, January 29 for their first road match of the season against St. Ambrose.
