McMINNVILLE, Ore.-- The Augsburg University volleyball team opened its 2026 season with a split of matches at the Oregon Trail Classic at Linfield University on Friday, defeating Lewis & Clark College 3-0 before falling to Linfield University 3-1.
THE BASICS
SCORES: Augsburg def. Lewis & Clark (Ore.) 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 25-15); Linfield (Ore.) def. Augsburg 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 21-25, 27-25)
LOCATION: Ted Wilson Gymnasium, McMinnville, Ore.
RECORD: Augsburg 1-1 overall
LEWIS & CLARK RECAP
In the match against Lewis & Clark, the Auggies hit an impressive .358 with 40 kills and 10 service aces, while committing only six attack errors throughout the match.
The River Otters started strong, taking a 6-3 lead with a block from Isabel Melean-Williams and HB Schuett, and a service ace from Kaitlyn Jensen. However, the Auggies quickly responded, tying the set at 6-6 on
Lola Pilon's ace and a bad set from Lewis & Clark.
Taliah Triggs then put Augsburg ahead with back-to-back kills for a 9-7 lead. The teams traded points until
Grace Hamilton's kill and
Jovial King's service ace tied the set at 21-21. A series of late kills from
Marley Mitchell and Hamilton, along with a service ace from Hamilton, sealed the first set at 25-23 for Augsburg.
In the second set, the Auggies maintained momentum, initially trading points before Triggs put down three kills and a Pilon ace to establish a lead. King served four consecutive points, allowing the Auggies to stretch their advantage to 16-8. Despite a brief comeback from Lewis & Clark, which cut the deficit to 16-11, Augsburg closed the set 25-17 with kills from Triggs and a final ball-handling error from the River Otters.
The third set saw Augsburg start strong with a 4-1 lead, but Lewis & Clark rallied to take a 10-9 lead on a Coco Otto ace. Triggs responded with a kill, and the Auggies scored four straight points to lead 13-10. After some back-and-forth scoring, Augsburg extended their lead to 20-12, ultimately winning the set 25-15 with contributions from King, Mitchell, Triggs, and Rogers.
AUGSBURG TOP PERFORMERS
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Taliah Triggs: 17.5 points, 15 kills on .519 hitting, 2 service aces, 1 block assist
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Jovial King: 28 assists, 7 digs, 1 service ace
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Lola Pilon: 3 service aces, 7 digs, 2 assists
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Maggie Lile: 3 service aces, 6 digs
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Lilly Wynn: 7 kills on .333 hitting, 2 digs
LINFIELD RECAP
In their second match of the day, Augsburg faced Linfield University and lost 3-1. The Auggies rallied from a 14-11 deficit to win the third set, but could not maintain their momentum in the fourth.
Linfield jumped out to an early lead in the first set, scoring the first four points. The Auggies responded, tying it at 4-4 with a service ace from Triggs and a kill from Mitchell. However, Linfield pulled ahead again, leading 20-14. Despite a late push from Augsburg, the Wildcats closed the set at 25-19 on a kill from Kaitlyn Hough.
In the second set, Linfield built an 11-4 lead. The Auggies fought back, tying the score at 18-18 before Linfield pulled ahead again and finished the set 25-22. The third set saw Augsburg take an early lead, and after trading points, they managed to close it out at 25-21, thanks to kills from Triggs and Gorter.
The fourth set was tightly contested, with both teams exchanging leads. Linfield eventually secured the final points needed to win the set 27-25 and the match.
AUGSBURG TOP PERFORMERS
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Gwynn Gorter: Team-high 10 kills, .474 hitting percentage, 4 block assists, team-high 12.0 points
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Jovial King: 36 assists, 13 digs
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Elise Uphoff: Team-high 16 digs, 3 assists
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Taliah Triggs: 9 kills, 9 digs, 2 block assists, 1 service ace
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Lilly Wynn: 7 kills, 4 block assists, 6 digs
UP NEXT
Augsburg faces George Fox University (Ore.) and Willamette University (Ore.) in the second day of the Oregon Trail Classic on Saturday (9/5) at 12:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. (Central time) at Willamette in Salem, Ore.
