DECATUR, Ill. — The Augustana Vikings women's volleyball team wrapped up their season on the road Tuesday evening, falling in straight sets to #3 Millikin in the CCIW Tournament by scores of 25–20, 25–16, and 25–20.
In the first, Augustana surged ahead 3–0 behind early kills from
Abby Kirchner and
Carmela Carbone, along with a Big Blue error. The Vikings maintained control through the opening rallies, tied 6–6 after a
Grace Gustafson kill. Millikin would jump out 10-7 before kills from
Mallory Coley and
Leah Rizzo, as well as four Big Blue errors would have the Vikings up 12-11 midway through the frame. Millikin responded with an 8-2 scoring run, capitalizing on Viking attack miscues to pull ahead 18–13. Augustana battled back to 16-19 late utilizing Millikin errors before the home team would go on a 4-0 run to lead 23-16. A late kill from Coley and Big Blue errors gave the Vikings a 3-0 scoring run, however Millikin would close the frame 25-20.
In the second, Millikin strung together an 11–3 stretch, taking advantage of Augustana attack errors to move in front. The Vikings found life with two
Elle Jones kills and one from
Lanah Queckboerner but Millikin continued to apply pressure offensively, extending its advantage to 18–8. The Vikings would answer, going on an 8-2 scoring run fueled by kills form
Carli Udovich, Big Blue errors, and a
Kacie Swanson service ace. With the score at 16-20 favoring Millikin, the home squad would close on a 5-0 run to take the set 25–16 and build a 2–0 match lead.
In the third, Carbone and
Grace Lichthardt would find two kills each early, trading points to a 5–5 tie before a pair of Millikin service aces gave the hosts an 10–6 edge. The Vikings responded with a pair of service aces from Rizzo and a Queckboerner kill to even the score at 10–10. From there, Augustana grabbed brief control on a 7-4 run as Carbone delivered consecutive kills, while
Alita Folkening and Queckboerner added kills of their own to push the Vikings ahead 16–14. A Lichthardt ace would make it 17-14, but Millikin answered with an 11-3 run sealing a 25–20 win and taking a 3–0 sweep in the match.
Augustana finished the match hitting .034 as a team with 28 kills, 19 assists, five service aces, and six total blocks. The offense was led by Carbone, who tallied a team-high seven kills to go along with three blocks. Queckboerner followed with six kills and five digs, while Lichthardt added two kills and a service ace on a .667 hitting clip. Coley and Udovich each chipped in two kills and a block assist, and Jones provided three kills and a solo block.
Alyssa Millan produced seven assists while Rizzo added eight assists, five digs, and two aces.
Katelyn Turley led the team defensively with 14 digs.
The Vikings conclude their season with a record of 14-15, posting a 9-5 home record inside the Carver Center.
