By: Peter Borkowski
Box Score ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - Augustana College women's volleyball (8-16, 2-6) ended the home portion of their 2026 season Wednesday night when they hosted North Central College (9-11, 3-5). After opening with a dominant set one win, the Vikings eeked out wins in sets two and three to sweep the Cardinals, 3-0.
Inside the Box Score
How it Happened
First Set
Set one was neck-and-neck to start. After Augie's 2-0 lead was erased, the teams found themselves tied or within one of each other until three straight Augie points put them in front 6-4. A service error brought NCC back within one, but a 4-0 spree by the Vikings bumped their advantage up to 10-5 and forced a Cardinal timeout.
Augustana grabbed another point following the timeout but North Central then rattled off four points in-a-row to cut their deficit to two, 11-9, and lead to an Augie timeout. The timeout proved beneficial as the Vikings scored the first three points out of the timeout to reestablish a five-point lead. A 3-1 run from the Cardinals kept the score close, but a trio of Augie scores set their lead at 18-12 and caused another North Central timeout.
The squads traded blows out of the Cardinals' timeout to work up to a 20-14 score. Back-to-back-to-back points by Augustana brought them just a pair of scores away from set victory. A service error from the Vikings would be NCC's final point as Carbone used a kill and service ace to end set one, 25-15, in Augustana's favor.
Second Set
The second set began similarly to set one. After two Queckboerner aces put Augie up 2-0, North Central would eventually knot the game up at 3-3. Ties also came at 5-5 and 6-6. The Vikings then scored four straight to jump out to a 10-6 advantage. From that point, the teams traded points until Augie led 16-12. Augustana's 16th points kicked off a 4-1 run by Augie that set their lead at 19-14 and forced NCC's first timeout of the set.
A 4-1 run by the Cardinals following the break quickly cut Augie's lead to three, 20-17, but back-to-back Viking scores gave them a five-point lead again. North Central picked the momentum back up however, scoring on the next four volleys to pull within one of Augie, 22-21, and cause the Vikings to use a timeout.
The Cardinals' run continued after the timeout as they tied the Vikings at 22-22. After tying each other again at 23-all, a Cardinal attack error brought up set point for Augustana and led to another NCC timeout. Set two lasted just one more volley as Sommesi came up with a huge block to win set two for Augie, 25-23, and give the Vikings a 2-0 match lead.
Third Set
In set three, the Cardinals jumped out to an early 6-3 advantage, but Augie would battle back and eventually tie the set before taking their first lead of the set at 8-7. Now in front, Augustana took three of the next four points to build their lead up to 11-8. A back-and-forth battle then began as the squads worked their way to a score of 13-10. A trio of North Central points then forced both a 13-13 tie and an Augustana timeout.
The Cardinal run continued after the timeout as the visitors added another three points to their score, taking a 16-13 lead. After each team grabbed a score, Augie broke out a massive 4-0 run to take an 18-17 lead. NCC briefly tied it again at 18-18, but a pair of Augie scores set them a point 20 and led to a NCC timeout.
Neither team could put a streak together out of the timeout as Augie slowly worked their way to a 23-20 lead. North Central would pull back within two, but a Carbone kill and NCC attack error ended the set 25-21 in Augie's favor as they completed the sweep over the Cardinals.
Up Next
The 2026 season concludes on Saturday. Nov. 7, for the Vikings. They participate in the Loras Triangular that day, playing Loras at 11 a.m. before ending the season with Grinnell at 1 p.m. v
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.
