#19 Wayne State 3 #22 Augustana 2

            #19 Wayne State College rallied from a 2-1 deficit to open Northern Sun Conference volleyball play Tuesday evening with a thrilling five-set win at #22 Augustana College.  Scores of the match were 25-21, 22-25, 18-25, 25-19 and 15-5.  WSC is now 8-1 overall and 1-0 in the NSIC while Augustana drops to 7-2 and 0-1 in league play.
            The first set featured 12 ties and four lead changes between the two clubs.  With the score tied at 20-20, WSC got a kill from Alyssa Frauendorfer followed by an Augustana attack error to take a 22-20 lead.  The 'Cats then used a Katie Hughes kill and a block by Frauendorfer for a 24-20 lead before finishing with a kill from setter Leisa McClintock to take the first set 25-21.
            The second set saw neither team hold a lead of more than three points.  WSC held a 20-19 lead, but the Vikings scored three straight points to take the lead for good at 22-20 as Augustana recorded a match-high 19 kills in the second set to win 25-22.
            Augustana used a scoring run midway through the third set to take a 25-18 win.  With WSC leading 12-11, the Vikings scored six straight points to take a 17-12 lead as Augustana went on for the set win.
            Wayne State used a late scoring run in the fourth set to take a 25-19 win, forcing a fifth set between the two clubs.  With the score tied at 16-16, the Wildcats forced an Augustana attack error followed by back-to-back kills from Hughes to take a 19-16 lead.  After Augustana scored to pull within two at 19-17, WSC used a kill by Alex Opperman and a service ace from Leisa McClintock to take a 21-17 lead forcing Augustana to take their final timeout of the set as WSC finished with a 25-19 set win.
            The fifth set was controlled by Wayne State as the Wildcats hit .529 with nine kills and no attack errors while forcing the Vikings into six attack errors and a -.048 attack percentage as WSC rolled 15-5 in the fifth set to rally for the win.
            WSC hit .251 for the match while holding Augustana to .197.  The 'Cats held slight advantages of 64-62 in kills and 65-63 in digs.  Each team had five service aces while Augustana had one more block than the Wildcats, 8-7.
            Junior outside hitter Katie Hughes notched her fourth double-double of the season with 17 kills and 18 digs to lead the Wildcats.  Elizabeth Gebhardt contributed 14 kills and four blocks followed by Alyssa Frauendorfer with 13 kills and four blocks. 
            Setter Leisa McClintock was credited with 10 kills and handed out 51 set assists in the win while recording two of Wayne State's five service aces.  Libero Courtney VanGroningen had 24 digs with Michaela Mestl adding 21.
            The Wildcats will be on the road again this weekend, visiting Bemidji State Friday evening at 7 p.m. and Minnesota Crookston Saturday in a 4 p.m. contest.