ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – The Augustana Vikings volleyball team earned a straight-set victory over the Elmhurst Bluejays on Friday night inside the Carver Center, claiming their first CCIW win of the season by scores of 28–26, 25–18, and 25–23.
Elmhurst came out hot to start the opening frame, jumping to a 7–0 lead behind a string of aces before Augustana found its rhythm. The Vikings began chipping away with a kill from Alexis Richards to spark momentum, followed by points from Elle Jones and Mallory Coley that steadied the offense. A 6-2 surge by the Vikings with a final kill by Alita Folkening helped Augie close the gap early in the set. Augie would find themselves 15-14 midway through the set. The two teams traded runs down the stretch, with Mallory Coley and Richards delivering key finishes to keep the Vikings within striking distance. Facing set point at 24–19, Augustana battled back behind clutch serving from Lanah Queckboerner and kills from Coley and Richards to even the score. The Vikings carried that momentum into extra points, sealing the comeback 28–26 after Carmela Carbone buried the set-winning kill from Abby Kirchner to complete a stunning turnaround.
The Vikings continued to ride their momentum into the second frame, carrying the energy from their first-set comeback to start the second set with a service ace from Richards. Mallory Coley and Lucy Pufundt powered the offense with consecutive kills, while Swanson sparked a key stretch to give Augustana a 12–11 edge. As the set wore on, Kirchner provided a jolt from the service line, delivering an ace that stretched it to 14-11. Elle Jones contributed key kills during an 8-2 stretch, taking the lead 22-17. Alexis Richards and Lucy Pufundt would close the set out. Many Vikings contributed down the stretch with assists for hitters. The Vikings closed to secure the 25–18 victory and a commanding 2–0 match lead.
Augustana kept their foot on the gas in the third, using strong serving and balanced attacking from Jones and Pufundt to jump to 7-1 lead. Elmhurst would battle back to tie it at 7-7 and following the lead change the game would start to go back-n-forth. Richards would continue her attack with two game tying kills at 10-10 and 13-13. That's when the Vikings would string together a kill by Carmela Carbone, an ace from Kacie Swanson and Richards and Coley pouring it on to take a 20-15 lead. Elmhurst wouldn't be denied and battled back to tie it at 21-21. Carli Udovich would check in as a closer and get a kill to take a 23-22 lead. After the Blue Jays' response, Richards would send the birds back home sealing the 25–23 win and completing the 3–0 sweep inside the Carver Center.
Richards and Pufundt each led the Vikings with 10 kills apiece, while Coley added nine and Jones contributed five. Kirchner notched a team-high four service aces to go with 13 assists, and Rizzo paced the offense with 21 handoffs. Defensively, Richards and Kirchner shared the team lead with 12 digs each. Coley would get 3 block assists in addition to her solo, and Carbone would get 2 assists and a solo stuff at the net.
With the win, Augustana improves to 10–9 overall and 1–3 in CCIW play. The Vikings return to action on Wednesday, Oct. 15, for a conference matchup versus Millikin.
