Box Score CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota, Crookston volleyball team fell 3-0 to Augustana College in a homecoming match-up Saturday night at Lysaker Gymasium. The first two sets could have gone either way Saturday night in a match that was not reminiscent of a 3-0 loss between the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference competitors. The Golden Eagles fall to 7-5 (3-2 NSIC) while the Vikings improve to 9-4 (3-2 NSIC).

In the first set, both team hits strongly as UMC out-hit Augustana .317 to .306.. Each team only had four errors apiece. The teams were knotted late, as they were much throughout the first set. Tied 23-23, the Vikings used kills from Holly Hafemeyer and Courtney Ysker to take the set 25-23. The Golden Eagles were paced by Brittany Looker (So., OH, Rochester, Minn.), who had six kills and hit .545 for the set on 11 attempts. Paige Mitchell (R-Jr., S, West Plam Beach, Fla.) led the way with 10 assists in the first set while Chelsea Wiesner (Jr., Lib., Rochester, Minn.) had seven digs.

Augustana was led in the first set by Ysker's six kills and Katie Niesen's 15 assists.

In the second set, the Golden Eagles came back from being down 13-8 to knot the score up. The teams were again tied at 23-23 by kills from Jrodan Spatenka and Ysker again sealed the deal for the Vikings. Both teams had strong sets again as UMC outhit Augustana .270 to .268 paced by Looker's six kills. Mitchell had eight assists in the set while Wiesner and Alexandra Skeeter (Jr., OH, Milwaukee, Wis.) each had four digs.

The Vikings were led in the set by Ysker's six kills and Niesen's 13 assists.

In set  three, the Golden Eagles struggled throughout as they hit -.097. Augustana was paced by four kills apiece from Hafemeyer and Taylor Hrdlichka.

On the match, UMC hit .183 to Augustana's .240 hitting percentage. Looker led the Golden Eagles with 13 kills and a .314 hitting percentage. Skeeter added eight kills and had 12 digs on the night. Mitchell led the team with 22 assists while Lindsey Rees (R-Jr., S, Bronson, Mich.) added 14 assists. Defensively, Wiesner led the way with 15 digs.

Augustana had three players with 10 or more kills as Ysker had 13 kills and hit .323, Hafemeyer had 12 kills and Spatenka had 10. Niesen had 38 assists for the match.

Defensively, the Vikings were paced by Niesen's 12 digs and Hrdlichka's four solo blocks and one block assist.

UMC will return to action next weekend as they hit the road for Upper Iowa University and Winona State University.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics Web site at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

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The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).