BOXSCORE PHOTO GALLERY (D3PHOTOGRAPHY.COM)

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Micha Sater (SR, Fridley, Minn./Centennial HS) and Nikolene Miller (SR, Tomahawk, Wis.) both claimed a team-best 10 kills, but the Augsburg College volleyball team dropped a hard-fought four-set Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match (25-18, 23-25, 25-20, 25-15) to the University of St. Thomas on Saturday afternoon at Schoenecker Arena.

The Auggies (14-11, 4-5 MIAC) battled throughout the match and took the second set from No. 7-ranked St. Thomas (30-1 overall, 9-0 MIAC), before the Tommies took the third and fourth sets to earn the match win. The loss drops Augsburg into a two-way tie with Saint Mary's in seventh place in the MIAC standings, as both teams sit a half-game behind St. Olaf for the sixth and final playoff spot heading into the last week of the regular season.

Sater recorded 10 kills, to go along with two digs and one block, while Miller added 10 kills and a match-high seven blocks. Miller, who recorded her 100th block of the season earlier this week, now owns the Augsburg school record for career blocks (277). 

Ashley Peper (FY, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) added eight kills and 10 digs for Augsburg, while Jamila Lee (SR, Richfield, Minn.) recorded seven kills and five blocks.

Emily McCourt (JR, Sun Prairie, Wis.) claimed a match-high 36 assists to go along with three blocks and three kills, while defensive specialist Emma Sievers (SO, Saint Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) added a team-high 22 digs.

The Auggies return to action this Wednesday (10/24) at 7 p.m. with a crucial conference home match against Concordia-Moorhead at Si Melby Hall.