ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – The Elmhurst volleyball team improved to 2-0 on the season with a four-set road victory over Augustana College.
Elmhurst picked up the victory by scores of 25-23, 25-21, 19-25, 25-11.
The Bluejays raced out to a massive lead in the opening set before holding off a furious rally from Augustana. Elmhurst led by 12 points on three occasions, including a 21-9 lead. The Vikings scored five straight to cut the lead to 21-14 before Elmhurst moved in front 22-13 on an
Emily Duis kill. Augustana rattled off the next seven points to cut the deficit to two points at 22-20. A kill from
Taylor Zurliene gave the Bluejays a three-point cushion at 23-21, but back-to-back errors from the Bluejays allowed Augustana to knot the score at 23-all. Kills from
Kayla Mast and
Payton Froats wrapped up the next two points and the set for Elmhurst.
Augustana jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the second set before Elmhurst pulled even at 11-11. The two teams went back-and-forth to keep the score knotted at 18-all. Three consecutive points gave Elmhurst a 21-18 lead and the team pulled away for the 25-21 win in the set.
Augustana grabbed an early lead and never gave up control in the third. The Vikings led by as many as eight points and cruised to the 25-19 win. The Bluejays left little doubt in the fourth and final set as the team scored the first point and led from start to finish. Elmhurst led 10-5 after 15 points and quickly opened up a double-digit lead shortly after before coasting to the 25-11 victory. The Bluejays hit .324 in the final set with just two errors and 13 kills.
Elmhurst finished the match hitting .165 with 42 kills and 20 errors in 133 attempts. Duis powered the Bluejays' attack, finishing with 12 kills while hitting .308 and adding four blocks. Zurleine added 10 kills, 21 digs and a pair of aces.
Kayla Mast totaled seven kills and
Payton Froats chipped in with six kills and two blocks.
Erin Murray led the squad in assists with 29 while
Valerie Thomas added 14 digs for the Bluejays.
Lexi Miller led the Vikings in the loss with 11 kills. Rachel Galluzzo added eight kills and Laura Heuermann finished with seven. Olivia Doak tallied 31 assists and 13 digs while Jessica Nguyen totaled a team-best 20 digs.
Elmhurst hosts Carthage College on Tuesday, March 9.
