By: Peter Borkowski
Box Score
AURORA, Ill. - Less than 24 hours after their last match, Augustana College women's volleyball (6-12, 1-4) was back in action Saturday afternoon for a non-conference match at Aurora University (21-2, 6-0). While the match was tied 1-1, Aurora pulled out wins in sets three and four to defeat Augie, 3-1.
Inside the Box Score
How it Happened
First Set
The match was neck and neck to start, with ties being had at 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, and 5-5. But with the game tied at five, Aurora rattled off six straight points to take an 11-5 lead. A service error ended their spree, but another five consecutive Spartan scores quickly ballooned their lead to 16-6. After each team tacked on one more point, a 5-1 run by Augustana showed signs of life as they pulled within six, 18-12.
However, that would be Augie's last run of the set as Aurora poured on another seven straight points to take set one, 25-12.
Second Set
Similar to set one, set two was a close affair to start. The teams found themselves knotted up eight times on their way to a 9-9 tie. From there, a 4-1 run by Aurora gave the home team some breathing run as they built a 13-10 lead. Four straight scores from Augie would put them in front however, 14-13.
A service error briefly tied the match at 14 all, but a five-point spree by the Vikings gave them the lead back as the score stood at 19-14. Aurora hit right back though, taking five of the next six points to pull within one of Augie. The squads would then trade scores back-and-forth from there until the end of the set, resulting in a 25-23 set two win for Augustana, evening the match up at 1-1.
Third Set
The Spartans hit hard to begin the third set, jumping out to an 8-1 lead. A 3-1 run by Augie would mitigate the damage some as they pulled within five, 9-4. Eventually, Augie worked that deficit down to four, 11-7, but Aurora scored five in-a-row to take a commanding 16-7 lead. The teams played about even with each other until it was 21-14 Aurora, and from there the Spartans took four of the final five points to clinch set three, 25-15.
Fourth Set
Once again, Aurora was in control of the start of set four, quickly building an 8-2 lead. Augie would call a timeout here and grab a kill out of the break, but another four Aurora points soon made it a 12-3 ballgame. After another Augustana timeout, the Vikings would go on a 3-1 run to cut the deficit down a little before a 3-0 Spartan spree made it a 10-point game at 16-6. Another 3-1 Augie run would pull them back within eight, 17-9, but that was swiftly negated by five straight Aurora scores.
Four consecutive Augie points kept their match hopes alive, but the teams then began trading points until Aurora clinched a 25-15 set win and a 3-1 match victory.
Up Next
Augie returns to CCIW play on Wednesday, Oct. 21, with a 7 p.m. trip to Elmhurst.
Follow the Vikings
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Augustana women's volleyball by following the team on Twitter at @augieathletics, on Facebook at Augustana Women's Volleyball, and on Instagram at @augie_wvb.
