On Thursday, Oct. 4, the Augustana women’s volleyball team (11-10) hosted a game against Elmhurst College. The Vikings beat the Bluejays 3-1, which led the team to their first conference victory of the season.
Head coach Kelly Bethke talked about how the team was focused on their mentality going into this CCIW match.
“We want to team to play at the best level they can. It is important for this team to work smarter, not harder,” Bethke said.
During the first set, seniors Emily Uglem and Hannah Moore had a couple of successful kills each during the first few plays of the game. The Vikings won the first set 25-22 while moving onto the second set of the night.
During the second set, the Vikings started off strong with junior hitters Grace Bialobok, Brooke Harmon and Taylor Steger all making successful kills in order to get the lead. This strong offense landed the Vikings into another set victory with the score of 25-20.
During the third set, the Vikings struggled to keep up with Elmhurst. The Bluejays were able to get ahead by serving consistently and their successful kill streak. Junior Madi Glatz did get a few good digs in on the defensive side to help even out the score of the game. The Vikings fought to stay ahead but could not come back in time leaving Elmhurst to win 25-17 in the third set.
After this third set, the energy in the atmosphere grew and senior Victoria Biggerstaff said the Vikings were even more determined than before to get this win against Elmhurst.
“Both the bench and the people on the court pushed the team to win. We had great energy throughout the entire team and that helped us to push through the hard spots and win,” Biggerstaff said.
During the fourth set, Moore and first-year student Sierra Erke both had good blocks in the beginning of the set. First-year student Olivia Doak helped the team gain critical points based on her successful serving rate.
Elmhurst trailed alongside Augustana as both teams entered into overtime. Senior hitter Taryn Vanearwage managed to keep the team in the race for victory by making two more kills for the Vikings.
As both teams bounced back and forth, Bialobok and first-year student Jordan Dryfhout dug the ball and spiked it taking the win for the Vikings with the score of 33-31.
After this long and difficult battle, head coach Kelly Bethke talked about what is in store for the remainder of the team’s season.
“This year we have a different dynamic and a different team. We have been really competitive and (we are) excited about the second half of the season,” Bethke said.
The team’s next game will take place at home on Friday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. against CCIW team Illinois Wesleyan.