ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's volleyball team hosts the Clarke Pride on Thursday, February 29 for their final non-conference match of the season. 

The Vikings sit at 12-1 on the season after conquering St. Ambrose last Wednesday. The first set started with both teams trading points before Augie grabbed three in a row to make it a 4-1 score. The Vikings increased the gap to as many as nine to close out the first set 25-16. In the second, St. Ambrose grabbed a late rally to seal a 26-24 win to even the match at one win apiece. 

In a back-and-forth third set, the Fighting Bees found early success and held onto a lead until a kill by Aidan Bolen tied the game at 19-19. After another deadlock at 23, the Bees fought off set point three times before Augustana secured three of the final four points to win by a score of 28-26. St. Ambrose answered with a 32-30 win in set four, a game that saw 15 ties, to force a fifth and final set. 

Both teams tied twice to start the final set before Augie converted a 4-0 run to create a 6-2 score. St. Ambrose narrowed the deficit to one at 8-7, but three consecutive kills by the Vikings increased the difference back to four. A kill from Bolen closed out the match with Augie coming out on top with a final score of 15-10.

Clarke owns a 4-7 overall record and enters the week's contest after a 3-0 loss to William Penn (Iowa) on Tuesday. As a team, the Pride hit -.023, while their opponent obtained .333. Justin Hernandez led with 24 kills and Kainoa Gerard had nine assists. Clarke is 1-5 on the road this season, with their last away match being the loss on Tuesday. Both teams have won a match in their all-time series history, with Augie grabbing a 3-1 victory in their most recent matchup last season. Bolen led with 11 kills with Zach Moreano following with 10, while Matthew Degnan had 40 assists.

The first serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.