Vikings drop Thursday contest at No. 15 SMSU

MARSHALL, Minn. (Augustana) – The Augustana volleyball team dropped a three-set match to No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State on Thursday night inside PE Gym. The Mustangs took the conference contest by set scores of 25-22, 25-12, and 25-16.

The Vikings move to 8-10 overall and 2-8 in NSIC play, while the Mustangs improve to 13-4 on the season and 6-4 in the conference.

Sophomore Brooke Berens paced the Vikings with 10 kills and a .450 hitting percentage, while Reagan Jansen nearly matched her output with nine kills of her own. Maya Wente added six kills and a pair of blocks, and Sydney Tims tallied three kills and two service aces.

Defensively, Gabby Jones anchored the back row with 12 digs while Jansen had eight digs. At the net, Augustana recorded four total team blocks, led by Berens and Jansen, who each assisted on two.

Augustana battled tightly in the opening set, trading points early and climbing to a 20-19 lead after a kill from Brooke Berens. However, SMSU closed the frame on a 6-2 run to take the opener 25-22.

The Mustangs carried that momentum into the second set, hitting .414 while limiting Augustana to just seven kills and five errors. The Vikings struggled to find rhythm offensively as SMSU built an early cushion and rolled to a 25-12 win.

In the third set, Augustana fought to keep pace behind kills from Maya Wente and Reagan Jansen, but another efficient attacking performance by the Mustangs sealed the sweep with a 25-16 victory.

The Vikings are back in action on Saturday, hosting Sioux Falls at the Elmen Center. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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