PLATTEVILLE, Wis. - Augustana College women's volleyball (3-5, 0-0) is spending the weekend in Platteville, Wisconsin, for the UW-Platteville Tournament, which kicked off Friday night as the Vikings faced the undefeated No. 24 University of Chicago (10-0, 0-0). After falling in a 2-0 hole, Augie managed to force a tight-knit set four before ultimately falling short of the comeback and losing 3-1.
Inside the box score
- Sophia Sommesi led Augie in kills with 12 and was joined in double digits by Elle Jones and her 11.
- Abby Kirchner served up a team-high 16 assists.
- Lanah Queckboerner was strong defensively with 17 digs. She also had a service ace.
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How it happened
First set
The Vikings jumped on the Maroons early, swiping the first four points of the match on their way to an eventual 6-1 lead. However, a nine-point run from Chicago quickly negated that advantage and gave Chicago a 10-6 lead. The deficit stayed at four as the teams traded points until it was 15-11. There, the Maroons scored consecutively to up their lead to five, 16-11.
A 3-2 run by Chicago enlarged their lead, putting the score at 19-13. Following a timeout, the Vikings finally pulled off a run, taking three of four points to claw back within four, 20-16. A kill from the Maroons appeared to end that momentum, but Augustana snatched the momentum back with three straight points to make it a two-point game, 21-19, and force the Maroons to call a timeout.
But out of the timeout, Chicago rattled off four straight points to claim set one, 25-19.
Second set
The Maroons carried their set one momentum into set two, taking an early 5-1 lead. Two-point runs were swapped, with two of those runs belonging to Augie as they came back to make it a 7-5 ballgame. After each team scored a point, three consecutive points by Chicago grew their lead to 11-6.
Augie and Chicago traded blows until it was 13-9, but this kicked off a massive 8-3 run for the Maroons on their way to a 21-12 lead. Back-to-back points from the Vikings showed signs of life, but a service ace gave control back to the Maroons, now on top 22-14.
Augustana still did not back down, however, going on a 4-1 run to make things interesting at 23-18. But that is all the Vikings' offense could muster, as a pair of Maroon kills ended set two in their favor, 25-18.
Third set
With their backs against the wall and set three tied at 3-3, Augie grabbed four points in a row to take an early 7-3 lead. After eventually being doubled up by the Vikings, 8-4, the Maroons almost tied it thanks to three straight points. Augie prolonged their lead after a Grace Lichthardt kill made it 9-7, but a pair of Viking errors soon had the game tied at nine-all.
With a brand new game in set three, the Vikings took three consecutive points to retake the lead, 12-9. A bad set and attack error allowed Chicago to pull back within one before the Maroons committed two errors of their own to bounce the lead back up to three, 14-11.
Chicago cut the deficit to one again at 15-14, but two straight Augie points set their advantage at three once more. However, the Maroons were finally able to tie the set thanks to a 3-0 run. Now tied 17-17, Augustana called a timeout before unleashing a 5-1 spree to take a commanding 22-18 lead.
The Maroons responded well by taking three of the next four points, but a Lichthardt kill brought the Vikings to set point and, following one more Chicago point, Alyse Murphy-Spiteri finished off the set with a kill, forcing a fourth set.
Fourth set
The beginning of set four was tight, with the teams working their way to a 3-3 tie. But from there, Chicago scored four straight to create some distance and force an early Augie timeout. Out of the break, the Vikings scored a pair of points to pull back within two, and then slowly worked their way within one, 9-8. A 3-1 Maroon run blew that deficit back up to three, however, 12-9.
Down by three, Augie was able to capitalize on four straight Chicago errors to take a 13-12 lead. A Maroon kill stopped the bleeding, but Augie picked back up with a 4-1 run to make it 17-14 in their favor.
That lead was short-lived, however, with three straight Chicago points knotting things up at 17-17. The dueling squads split the next six points to bring the set to 20-20, making it a first-to-five race.
The first two points of the five needed went to Chicago, but Jones cut into their run with a kill to make it 22-21. Unfortunately, the Vikings could not piece together another run as the teams swapped points until Chicago hit point 25, defeating Augie 25-23 in the set and 3-1 in the match.
Up next
Women's volleyball conclude their trip to Wisconsin with a doubleheader Saturday, Sept. 19, afternoon. At 12 p.m., they face off with MSOE before taking on the hosts, UW-Platteville, at 2 p.m.
