BOXSCORE STORY UPDATED ON MONDAY 11/18 WITH REGIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The incredible season for the Augsburg College volleyball team came to an end in the second round of the NCAA Division III national playoffs on Friday night, as the defending national champion University of St. Thomas scored a 3-1 victory over the Auggies at the Tommies' Schoenecker Arena.

St. Thomas (30-2 overall), ranked No. 4 nationally, claimed the win over the No. 13-ranked Auggies (29-5 overall) by set scores of 25-23, 18-25, 25-7 and 25-14. The Tommies will face No. 19-ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point in Saturday's regional final at Schoenecker Arena. The Pointers upset No. 6-ranked Saint Benedict in four sets in the other regional semifinal on Friday.

The loss ended one of the best seasons for an Augsburg volleyball squad in the 42-season history of the program. Augsburg's 29 victories tied the team's only other NCAA Division III playoff season, 1982 (29-14), for the third-most wins in a single season in school history, behind only a 31-14 record in 1984 and a 32-16 record in 1985. Along the way, Augsburg won 23 matches by three-set sweeps, with a 93-21 record in its 114 sets, and outscored its opponents by a 2,708-to-2,175 margin this season.

Augsburg was paced in Friday's match by outside hitter Colleen Ourada (SR, Omaha, Neb./Mercy HS), who had 16 kills, nine digs and two block assists. Ashley Peper (SO, Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy HS) collected 10 kills, three service aces, seven digs and two block assists, and Jaelyn Arndt (FY, Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn HS) finished with eight kills and two blocks (one solo).

On Monday, Peper earned a spot on the regional All-Tournament Team. Also selected were Lexi Alm of Saint Benedict, Jill Greenfield of St. Thomas, and Krista Loos, Emma Brunkhorst and Alexis Hartman of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Kelly Foley of St. Thomas was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Katelyn Berens (SR, Jordan, Minn./Prior Lake HS) recorded 20 digs for the Auggies, and setter Emily McCourt (SR, Sun Prairie, Wis.) had 31 assists, nine digs, a service ace and a solo block.

St. Thomas was led by Foley, who had 25 kills and hit .524 in the match, while adding four block assists. Mackenzie Piechowski had 10 kills and a block assist. Nicole Potts had eight kills, 14 digs and two block assists, and Greenfield had eight kills, 15 digs and a service ace. Paige Brimeyer added eight kills and a block assist. Maddie Reese and Katie Maher had 28 and 25 assists, respectively, and McKenna Reagan had 25 digs.

Friday's match capped the careers of three Auggie seniors -- Ourada, McCourt and Berens. Ourada and McCourt earned All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III All-Central Region honors this season, with McCourt earning All-MIAC honors for the third straight year. Berens was an All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team honoree this season.

Ourada finished her career on Augsburg's top-10 school record lists in nine different career categories. Playing in 104 career matches (363 sets), she set Augsburg's career records for kills (1,182) and attack attempts (3,343). McCourt finished her career as Augsburg's assist record-holder with 4,192 (9.79 per-set) in 119 matches (428 sets), and Berens finished her 93-match (327 sets) career fifth in school history in digs with 1,237.