MINNEAPOLIS — Playing its second straight five-set match in as many days, the Augsburg University volleyball team lost to St. Olaf College 3-2 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match on Saturday at Si Melby Hall. The Auggies pushed the match to a fifth set after turning a 17-18 deficit into a 22-19 lead in the fourth, but the late push was not enough.
THE BASICS
SCORE: St. Olaf def. Augsburg 3-2 (13-25, 25-19, 25-17, 22-25, 15-7)
LOCATION: Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis
RECORDS: Augsburg 9-15 overall (4-6 MIAC), St. Olaf 21-7 overall (8-2 MIAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The opening set moved point for point to 5-5, with
Lilly Wynn,
Taliah Triggs and
Aloaha Ricke putting down early kills for the Auggies while the Oles kept matching sideouts.
Jovial King broke the tie with a kill, then served four straight Auggies points as
Gwynn Gorter added a kill and the Oles committed three errors during a push to 10-5. The Auggies extended the stretch to 12-6, and
Maggie Lile and
Ameerah Rogers later added service aces as the Auggies moved the score to 21-13 on Ricke's kill.
Ava Carlson served out the final four points, including three consecutive aces, to close the set 25-13.
The Auggies moved ahead 4-1 in the second set with kills from Ricke and Wynn, but the Oles used Kaela Clerveaux's serve to score five straight points and take a 7-4 lead. The Oles stretched the margin to 11-6 before the Auggies worked back into the set, with kills by Triggs, Rogers, Gorter and Ricke helping trim the score to 13-12. After the Auggies stayed within 15-14, the Oles pushed back to 20-14 behind a Lilah Van Scoyoc kill, two Carlie Beckstrand kills and a Clerveaux ace. The Auggies got late kills from Triggs, Rogers and Ricke, but the Oles reached set point at 24-17 and finished the set 25-19.
After the Oles scored the first two points of the third set, Wynn put down three early kills from King, with consecutive points bringing the Auggies even at 2-2 before the Oles used two Zahara Johnson aces and an Evelyn Kreft kill to move ahead 6-2. The Auggies got kills from Rogers and Ricke as they worked back into the set, and
Ava Carlson's ace trimmed the margin to 14-11. The Oles responded with kills by Lilah Van Scoyoc and Evelyn Kreft, and after
Grace Hamilton scored for the Auggies, Van Scoyoc and Maren Miller added kills to make it 18-12. Rogers' kill made it 20-14, but the Oles scored the next four points, including a Michaela Dooley ace and a Karli Torhorst kill, and although the Auggies took three straight late points including
Maggie Lile's ace, Carlie Beckstrand's kill closed the set for the Oles, 25-17.
King served the Auggies to the first four points of the fourth set, with
Marley Mitchell and Ricke adding kills during the opening run. The Oles worked back to an 8-8 tie and later moved in front 18-15 before a service error, back-to-back Lile aces and a Triggs kill put the Auggies ahead 19-18. After the Oles tied it at 19-19, Mitchell answered with a kill,
Lola Pilon served an ace and Rogers had a block as the Auggies moved to 22-19. The Oles closed within 22-21, but a St. Olaf setting error, Ricke kill and Rogers' final kill finished the Auggies' 25-22 set win.
The Oles scored the first two points of the fifth set, but Mitchell's kill from King brought the Auggies even at 2-2. The Oles moved back in front 6-3 on kills by Sophie Saxton, Maren Miller and Evelyn Kreft before
Maggie Lile's kill from King got the Auggies to 6-4. The Oles followed with four straight points, including kills by Lilah Van Scoyoc and Miller, to go ahead 10-4. The Auggies added late kills from Pilon, Ricke and King, but Karli Torhorst finished the set for the Oles at 15-7.
Triggs totaled seven kills in the match, giving her 205 for the season. King had 40 assists and 14 digs, her 18th assist-dig double-double of the season and 39th of her college career.
AUGSBURG TOP PERFORMERS
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Jovial King: 40 assists, 14 digs, 1 service ace
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Maggie Lile: Team-high 22 digs, 4 service aces
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Aloaha Ricke: Team-high 13 kills, 13.0 points
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Ava Carlson: 4 service aces, 8 digs
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Ameerah Rogers: 5 kills, team-high 2 blocks, including 1 solo, 7.5 points
UP NEXT
The Auggies host the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in a nonconference match on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis.
