BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS -- Amanda Unze (FY, Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska HS) led Augsburg College with 13 kills, hitting a blistering .667, as the Auggies claimed an important Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference volleyball win in four sets (25-22, 25-10, 19-25, 25-12) over Carleton College on Wednesday night at Si Melby Hall.

With the win, Augsburg (17-12 overall, 6-4 MIAC) remains in the pack of teams fighting for the final three spots in the six-team MIAC postseason playoffs, with one match remaining in the regular season.

The first set of the evening began very evenly matched as the teams were tied 4-4 before the Auggies could put together a small run to take an 11-7 lead. Carleton cut the Augsburg lead to two at 15-13 but the Auggies used a pair of kills by Lauren Butler (FY, Burnsville, Minn.) to increase their lead to five. Carleton was able to again cut the Augsburg lead to two at 24-22 before the Auggies capitalized on a Knight hitting miscue to take the first set 25-22.

In the second set, Augsburg started aggressively with a 7-0 lead and never looked back. Big serving runs by Shanna Reed (SR, Eagan, Minn./Holy Angels HS) and Denielle Johnson (JR, Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park HS), proved to be the difference maker as the Auggies cruised to a 25-10 win in the second.

Augsburg held a 9-6 advantage to start the third set but Carleton was not ready to be done for the night. Carleton put together two big blocks and capitalized on some Auggie hitting miscues to take their first lead of the night at 14-13.  Augsburg was able to tie things back up at 16-16 but couldn't hang on down the stretch as Carleton took the third set 25-19.

Strong serving by Jessica Hilk (JR, Waconia, Minn./Mayer Lutheran HS) and three kills by Unze allowed the Auggies to jump out to a quick 10-4 lead to start the fourth. The Auggie offense, paired up with 4.0 team blocks was too much for the Knights to overcome as Augsburg went on to take the deciding game 25-12. The win over Carleton was the first for the Auggies since a 3-2 win on Sept. 22, 2001.

For the match, Augsburg was led by Unze and Barbara Simmons (SR, Minneapolis, Minn./South HS). Unze led all players with 13 kills, while Simmons had 10 kills and five blocks. Defensively, Dani Tanaka (SR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) led the Auggies with 15 digs, followed by Reed with 13 and Butler with 12. Reed also posted 35 assists, for her third double-double in her last four matches.

Carleton was led by Kelly Lovett with nine kills and Annie Eckhoff with seven kills and 10 blocks. Libero Laura Barsness led all players with 16 digs.

Augsburg returns to action on Saturday (10/31) at 3 p.m. when it hosts the University of St. Thomas in a key MIAC matchup at Si Melby Hall.