ST. PAUL, Minn. – Trailing by two sets, the Macalester College volleyball team battled back to defeat No. 18 Augsburg University, 23-25, 17-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-10 Friday night in a raucous Leonard Center. The win gives the Scots a 13-8 record overall, including a 3-3 mark in conference play. The Auggies fall to 14-5, 3-3 MIAC.

The first set was close throughout, with neither team leading by more than three points. Macalester held off one set point at 24-22 with a kill by first year middle blocker Avery Rahe (Olathe, Kan./Olathe West), but Augsburg scored the next point to win, 25-23. The Auggies hit .306 in the second set to overcome four kills apiece by senior outside hitter Eliza King (Novato, Calif./San Marin) and sophomore outside hitter Adisa Preston (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) to take the set, 25-17.

Down 2-0, Macalester rallied in the third set, hitting .316 with 15 kills and scoring the final three points to break a 22-22 tie and win, 25-22. King, Preston and first year outside hitter Grace Watkins (San Angelo, Texas/Georgetown) each had four kills in the set. Taking advantage of their second chance, the Scots turned up the defense, holding Augsburg to a .024 hitting percentage and registering four team blocks. Sophomore right side Gwen Wooten (Allen, Texas/Allen) put away four kills to help Macalester win the fourth set, 25-20 and force a fifth set.

Kills by Watkins and Preston gave the Scots an early 2-0 lead in the final set. The Auggies responded by scoring seven of the next 11 points to lead, 7-6. A pair of Augsburg errors and a service ace from King put Macalester up, 9-7 before a kill by Bri Van Weil made it 9-8. Preston and Wooten sandwiched kills around an Auggie error to lead 12-8, followed by a kill from Mikayla Coops to make the score 12-9. Sophomore middle blocker Stephanie Geber (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo) took over from there, notching three kills down the stretch for a 15-10 victory.

Preston and King each finished with 14 kills, with King adding 14 digs. Watkins registered 12 kills, Wooten had 10 kills and Geber notched five of their nine kills in the fifth set. Sophomore Nicole Norton (Brussels, Wis./Southern Door) and first year Maya Mortenson (Minneapolis, Minn./Spring Lake Park) split the setting duties with 29 and 16 assists, respectively. Defensively, Rahe had six blocks, Geber recorded four blocks and Wooten and Preston tallied two blocks apiece as the Scots tied their season high of 10 total team blocks. Sophomore libero Torrance Williams (Houston, Texas/Yes Prep Northbrook) tallied 16 digs and first year defensive specialist Sarah Bohrer (Minneapolis, Minn./Edina) added 13 digs. Kevin Boysen led Augsburg with 18 kills.

Macalester continues conference play with a match at St. Scholastica on Saturday, Oct. 14, beginning at 3:00 p.m. in Duluth, Minn.