Box Score ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Augustana women's volleyball capped an electric night at the Carver Center with a five-set victory over North Park, rallying late to take the match 25–19, 16–25, 21–25, 25–19, 18–16.

The Vikings opened the night with a dominant 8–1 surge, fueled by an ace from Kacie Swanson and a pair of aces from Abby Kirchner. Some North Park errors contributed, along with early kills from Mallory Coley and Lanah Queckboerner. Kirchner's back-to-back service aces forced North Park into an early timeout, but Augustana extended its control to 8–1 after a Queckboerner finish and a NPU attack error. North Park rallied with a 9–2 run of its own, capitalizing on a handful of Viking miscues to even the set at 10–10. After a timeout, Augustana regrouped behind Grace Gustafson's offensive play and a strong sequence from Alita Folkening who sparked a 6-1 run for the Vikings to take the lead 20-16.

The Vikings closed the set in commanding fashion, reeling off a 5-2 run. Queckboerner and Gustafson continued to apply pressure at the net, Folkening added one, and Coley delivered back-to-back kills to clinch the 25–19 set victory.

In the second set, North Park bounced back as the two teams traded points early, with Coley, Alexis Richards, and Gustafson each finding kills while Kirchner added an ace to keep the Vikings even through 8–8. Kirchner continued to serve effectively, after a Carmela Carbone kill, Kirchner would add another ace to make it 10-10. North Park found rhythm behind Shamyia Collier, who tallied two straight kills during a 6–2 surge that forced Augustana to call timeout trailing 17–12.

Out of the break, Richards provided answers at the net to make it 18-14 in favor of North Park. Grace Lichthardt added a late kill for Augie, yet North Park closed the set on a 15–6 run to seal the 25–16 victory and tie the match 1–1.

In the third set, After the visitors opened with a 2–0 lead, the Vikings responded behind a flurry from Carbone, who tallied back-to-back kills and teamed up with Coley for a block to swing momentum and finish a 4–0 run. Queckboerner and Elle Jones added offense at the net to keep the score tight through 8–8, but consecutive service aces from North Park fueled a 6–2 stretch that sent Augustana into a timeout trailing 13–10.

Folkening broke the run with a kill assisted by Leah Rizzo out of the break, while Carbone and Richards found the floor for kills. A Rizzo ace contributed to keep the Vikings within striking distance at 19-16. Back-to-back late kills from Lichthardt and Folkening including a North Park ball handling error trimmed the margin to 21–19, forcing another North Park timeout, but the visitors came out of the timeout and held on to close the set 25–21.

In the fourth set, Augustana jumped out to a 4–2 start behind an early ace from Kirchner and kills from Richards, Carbone, and Gustafson. Lucy Pufundt added a finish to make the score 5-3 and another off a Katelyn Turley assist to make it 6-6.  The two teams traded points to a 10–10 tie, before a pair of kills from Carbone and Lichthardt helped Augie stay close.

After a tying again at 15-15, the Vikings surged ahead behind a 3–0 run sparked by a Richards kill. Coley and Folkening combined for a stuff block to force a North Park timeout at 18–15. A bad set by North Park gave Augustana momentum as Lichthardt took over late, recording a kill and consecutive service aces to close out the frame as Augustana sealed the 25–19 win.

In the fifth set, Augustana capped off its comeback as Carbone powered the Vikings' offense with two kills to help even the score at 3–3. North Park surged ahead 7–4 following a short 3–0 run, prompting an Augustana timeout. Following the timeout the hometown Vikings were down 12-8 and a North Park attack error would side-out as Augustana would take momentum. A 4-0 run which included 3 unforced North Park errors and a block from Folkening would keep the final set square 13-13. The teams would later trade points to a 16–16 deadlock before Rizzo fed Coley to set up match point. Kirchner would assist Gustafson on the final point as Augustana took the fifth and final set 18-16. 

Augustana posted a team hitting percentage of .192, tallying 60 kills across five sets. Coley paced the attack with 11 kills and three blocks, while Gustafson and Richards followed closely with 10 and nine kills, respectively. Carbone added nine kills without an error for an efficient .409 hitting clip, and Folkening chipped in six kills with four total blocks. Rizzo and Kirchner combined evenly for 44 assists, with Rizzo also collecting nine digs. Kirchner was stellar from the back stripe finishing the match with five service aces, Lichthardt would add two of her own to go along with five kills. Turley anchored the back row with a team-high 16 digs, followed by Richards with 15 and Queckboerner with 14 and five kills.

With the win, Augustana improves to 12-13 and 3-4 in the CCIW. The Vikings return to action Wednesday, Nov. 5, continuing CCIW play on the road taking on #6 Illinois Wesleyan.