ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College volleyball team won a hard-fought battle with Augustana College, 3-1 on the second day of the St. Paul Tournament at St. Catherine University Saturday afternoon. The Scots, who won by scores of 25-14, 24-26, 28-26, 25-15, improve to 1-1 on the season with the win, while the Vikings drop to 1-1.

Macalester controlled play in the first set, hitting .400 with 15 kills en route to a 25-14 win. First year outside hitter Ella Cohen-Richie (Chicago, Ill./Univ. of Chicago Laboratory Schools) led the way with four kills in the set, while seniors Adisa Preston (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) and Grace Galer (Hanover Park, Ill./Schaumburg) each had three kills. In the second set, the Scots had an opportunity to go up 2-0 in the match, but Augustana registered the final three points of the set to win, 26-24.

The third set was even closer, with neither team leading by more than three points. Augustana rallied late and had set point twice, but Macalester staved off both threats to extend the set. With the score tied at 26-26, an Augustana attack error gave the Scots another set point, and Cohen-Richie put away the decisive kill to put Macalester ahead in the match, 2-1. Cohen-Richie delivered five kills in the set, as did sophomore middle blocker Sydney Stratton (North Liberty, Iowa/Liberty).

The Scots eliminated any similar drama in the fourth set, building leads of 16-8 and 19-11 before tallying six of the final eight points to take the set, 25-15 and win the match. Cohen-Richie and Preston led Macalester with three kills apiece in the final set.

Cohen-Richie led the offense with 13 kills to go with 15 digs in a solid all-around performance. Stratton registered 10 kills without an error in 19 attempts for a .526 hitting percentage. She also contributed six total blocks. Preston finished with eight kills, with Galer and senior middle blocker Stephanie Geber (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo) recording six kills each. Senior setter Nicole Norton (Brussels, Wis./Southern Door) dished out 23 assists and tied senior libero Torrance Williams (Houston, Texas/Yes Prep Northbrook) for the team lead with 17 digs. The Scots held the Vikings to a .095 hitting percentage while registering eight total team blocks and 85 digs.

Next weekend Macalester will play in the St. Norbert Invitational in DePere, Wis. The Scots will face Northland on Friday, Sept. 6 before taking on the host Green Knights and Dominican University on Saturday, Sept. 7.