Box Score DUBUQUE, Iowa -- The Augustana Vikings men's volleyball team fell to the Clarke Pride on Saturday in five sets with set scores of 21-25, 25-18, 25-18, 24-26, and 10-15.
Augie grabbed the early lead in the first set after a 6-2 run but Clarke got within one after three consecutive points. The Pride found this gap four different times before grabbing the slight advantage after a three-point run. The Vikings got within two after a kill by Zach Moreano and again after an attack error by Clarke, but the Pride added the final two points to take the first set 25-21.
In the second, both teams rallied points four times before Clarke snatched the lead, but Augie followed with five consecutive points with four of the points being errors by the Pride to overtake the set 12-10. The Vikings stretched the gap to as many as four after another attack error by Clarke and found this advantage three additional times. A kill by Ryan Huntington moved the difference to six before Cole Clarke gained the largest lead of seven after a successful attack. Alexander Sulewski closed out the set with a kill from Colin Schaefer to even the matchup at one apiece.
In the third set, the Vikings secured the early lead after an 8-3 run and got up as far as six after a kill by Sulewski. Augie found this difference twice more until an error by the Pride moved the gap to seven to create an 18-11 game. A four-point run moved the gap to as many as nine after a block by Clarke and Sulewski. Clarke closed out the set with a kill from Schaefer to take the set 25-18 and lead 2-1 overall.
Both teams drew even three times before Augie achieved the advantage in the fourth set with the Pride getting within one on four different times. Clarke evened the game at 12 apiece and both teams deadlocked once more before a kill by Ben Schultz moved the gap back to one. Back-to-back points by the Pride clasped the lead and they held the one-point lead until two consecutive kills by Clarke and Garett McNelis drew the score even at 23-23. The home team secured three of the final four points to force a fifth set.
In the fifth, the teams went back and forth until Clarke found a two-point lead. A successful attack by the Vikings moved the differential to one, but the Pride followed with three consecutive points to take the 7-3 advantage. Clarke held the upper hand with Augie getting within two after a three-point run at 12-10 and found the final three points to take the match after five sets.
Clarke led the team with 16 kills, while Schaefer notched 37 assists and Max Sellers had 17 digs. Clarke and Schultz blocked five attempts apiece and Sulewski served two aces.
With the loss, the Vikings move to 11-11 on the season and will return to action next Saturday to host North Park on Senior Day.
