ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings women's volleyball team split a pair of matches on Friday to begin the Viking Classic, defeating the Greenville Panthers in four sets before falling to the Buena Vista Beavers by the same score.
Against the Panthers, the two teams played a back-and-forth opening set with neither holding a lead of more than two all the way up until a 20-20 deadlock. From there, a service error from the Panthers and an ace by the Vikings created a 22-20 advantage for Augie. Greenville pulled back within one, but the Vikings sealed the opening game with three straight points.
Mallory Coley collected a pair of blocks during that span to help lead them to a 25-21 victory.
Augustana jumped out to a fast start in set two, scoring six of the game's first seven points. The Vikings never lost their lead the rest of the way, seeing the margin jump out to seven on three different occasions. Greenville made it close and cut it to two points at 16-14, but Augie quickly halted the momentum with a 3-0 spurt. Kills by
Emily Schipper and
Kylie Collachia closed out the frame with a 25-20 score.
Following a Panthers win in set three, the Vikings got out to another fast start in the fourth. Leading 9-5, Augie endured a 7-0 run from Greenville, but answered with five in a row to move back out in front. The Vikings then rattled off its second 5-0 run to turn a 19-18 lead into match point, later sealing the win with a joint block by
Carmela Carbone and Collachia.
Schipper led the charge offensively with 16 kills, while Carbone and Coley combined for 11 blocks. Four Vikings had double-digit digs, with
Ashley Awbrey posting a team-high 18.
In match two on the day, Augie bounced back from a 27-25 set one loss with a win by the same score in set two. Augie had set point twice in the frame before a kill by Coley and a solo block from Schipper evened the match score at one win apiece. Buena Vista answered with another long win, this time squeaking out a 29-27 victory in the third before clinching the match with a late run in the fourth to win by a score of 25-19.
Schipper posted 15 kills, while Collachia notched a career high 43 assists.
Augustana sits at 3-4 on the season and will close out the Viking Classic tomorrow morning versus DePauw.
