LA VERNE, Calif. -- The Augsburg University volleyball team opened its season with a 1-1 start at the Pacific Coast Classic. On Friday, Augsburg opened the tournament falling 3-0 to California Lutheran University, but was able to rebound and top the University of La Verne 3-0 later in the day.
THE BASICS - AUGSBURG VS. CALIFORNIA LUTHERAN
FINAL SCORE: California Lutheran def. Augsburg 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-23)
LOCATION: La Verne, California
RECORDS: Augsburg 0-1 overall, California Lutheran 1-0 overall
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST CALIFORNIA LUTHERAN
• Augsburg started off the season hitting .270 in the opening set, while Cal Lutheran hit at a .333 clip. The Auggie defense posted a 65-59 advantage in digs in the match and claimed a 7.0-3.0 advantage in total blocks.
• Augsburg was led by a 12-kill, 10-dig double-double by
Kayla Gjerde (SO, Afton, Minn./Stillwater HS). Gjerde hit at a .237 clip and recorded a team-high 38 attempts.
•
Corrina Evans (JR, Blaine, Minn./Blaine HS) continued to show why she is one of the top blockers in the region, as she posted five blocks (three solo). Evans added five kills and a pair of digs.
• Defensive specialist
Jaelin Rios (SR, Champlin, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) posted a match-high and Augsburg career-high 19 digs, while adding three assists. Newcomer
Angel Khang (FY, North St. Paul, Minn./North St. Paul HS) made a strong debut, picking up 10 digs.
• Setters
Lexie Lang (SO, Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS) and
Izzy Barr (SO, River Falls, Wis./River Falls HS) split the setting duties. Barr recorded a 13-assist, 13-dig double-double, while Lang dished out 11 assists and added eight digs.
•
Jade Fullerton (SO, Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View HS) and
Maddie Nierengarten (JR, Foley, Minn./Princeton HS) added six and five kills respectively.
FOR THE FOES (CAL LUTHERAN)
• The Regals were led by Jojo MacArthur and Sarah Hein, who posted 14 and 13 kills respectively.
• Jennifer Kent led all players with 27 assists, while Carly Rose Howard picked up a team-best 15 digs.
THE BASICS - AUGSBURG VS. UNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg def. La Verne 3-0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-18)
LOCATION: La Verne, California
RECORDS: Augsburg 1-1 overall, La Verne 0-1 overall
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST LA VERNE
• The Auggies had a strong match at the net, combining for 35 kills and 9.0 team blocks, while hitting at a .271 percentage in a match that took just 1:19 to complete. Meanwhile, the host Leopards were limited to a negative-.124 attack performance, with just 16 kills in the match. The match was tied just three times, and Augsburg trailed just once in the match, in the third set.
• Eleven Auggies saw playing time in the match, paced by
Kayla Gjerde (SO, Afton, Minn./Stillwater HS), who had nine kills with six digs and three blocks. Also on the outside,
Maddie Nierengarten (JR, Foley, Minn./Princeton HS) collected six kills with two digs.
• In the middle,
Corrina Evans (JR, Blaine, Minn./Blaine HS) was again impressive, hitting .750 with six kills in eight attempts, adding five digs, two blocks (one solo) and two service aces.
Jade Fullerton (SO, Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View HS) had five kills with a career-high seven blocks (one solo), and
Jade Boysen (SO, Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS) had five kills with a block.
• Setters
Izzy Barr (SO, River Falls, Wis./River Falls HS) had 18 assists with six digs, and
Lexie Lang (SO, Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS) had 11 assists with four digs. In the back row,
Jaelin Rios (SR, Champlin, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) collected 11 digs.
FOR THE FOES (LA VERNE)
• Emily Cohen led the Leopards with six kills, while Rylee Callen had four kills and two blocks (one solo).
• Madison Maynes had 14 assists and six digs for La Verne.
UP NEXT
• Augsburg faces No. 5-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.), the team that knocked the Auggies out of the NCAA Division III national tournament last year, in a Pacific Coast Classic match on Saturday (8/31) at 1:30 p.m. (Central time) at CMS. The Auggies close the challenging season-opening tournament facing Chapman (Calif.) at 5:45 p.m. (Central time).
