ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings men's volleyball team is set to host the Westminster Blue Jays for their first battle in the Carver Center of the season. 

The Vikings return to action after sweeping Edgewood in three sets on Thursday with set scores of 25-17, 25-16, and 25-22. Both teams rallied back-and-forth finding themselves in three draws before a kill by Sean Carlson and an attack error put the Vikings on top with a 7-5 score to begin the match. Four consecutive points stretched the gap to 17-12 for Augustana and the team maintained the five-point advantage to secure the first set 25-17.

Augustana cruised by the Eagles in set two with a score of 25-16. The Vikings began the second set with a 7-2 lead. Augie continued its scoring momentum and moved the gap to eight on two different occasions before pushing it to the largest gap of nine after a service ace by Carlson to make a 22-13 score. Back-to-back kills from Augie secured the second set victory to allow the team to lead the matchup 2-0. 

In the third set, Edgewood found the early advantage with its largest lead being six. After trailing most of the game, Augie evened the score at 21 after an attack error by the Eagles before Carlson switched the advantage in the Vikings' favor with a kill. Another error from the Eagles capped off a 7-1 scoring surge for the Vikings, eventually collecting the three-point win to complete the sweep. 

As a team, Augie posted a hitting percentage of .243 with a total of 31 kills. Carlson led the team in the win with nine kills, three aces, and three blocks. Cole Clarke followed with six kills, while Lamb had five blocks. Colin Schaefer secured a team-best 24 assists and nine digs. 

Westminster sits at 3-1 on the season and will battle North Park and Concordia-Chicago on Friday, January 17. The Blue Jays' most recent matchup was a 3-1 win over Misericordia on January 12. The team secured a .186 hitting percentage with 39 kills. Aiden Ortmann led Westminster with 14 kills, while Jake Schawo-McAlister secured 33 assists, and Ryan Rhodes notched 13 digs. Westminster holds a 1-0 away record with their last road matchup resulting in a 3-1 against SUNY Poly on January 12. This will be the first season that the Blue Jays have a men's volleyball team. 

Saturday will be the first time both teams will meet. Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m.