ST. PAUL, Minn. – Tonight, the Macalester volleyball team hosted a shootout. After nine set points, the smoke cleared in the Leonard Center, and Augsburg University emerged victorious in the decisive fourth set. The Pride Night duel moves the Auggies to 9-15 overall and 4-3 in the MIAC, while Macalester slides to 3-18 overall and 0-7 in the MIAC.

With sophomore Ella Cohen-Richie (Chicago, Ill./Univ. of Chicago Laboratory) serving, the Scots hopped out to an early lead in the first set, but the Auggies battled back to make it tight. At a 24-22 Augsburg set point, the Auggies committed a service error followed by an attack error to put Mac right back in it. The Scots couldn't hold on to the rope, though, and Augsburg closed them out 26-24.

After a back-and-forth second set, the Auggies led 19-18 when the Scots rattled off four straight points to take the lead on a serving run from first-year Kailee Banta (Duluth, Minn./Hermantown) capped with kill from Cohen-Richie off the connection from junior setter Hannah Morrow (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook). With a 23-22 Scot lead, sophomore Adonia Anene (North Hollywood, Calif/The Buckley School) logged a kill to set up a set point that Morrow and first-year Danielle Oji (Katy, Texas/Obra D. Tompkins) paid off with a block to close it out 25-22.

In set three, the Scots leapt out to an early lead again off of a Cohen-Richie serving run, but the Auggies again got it all back and more to build a four-point lead in the middle of the set. Oji and senior Avery Rahe (Olathe, Kan./Olathe West) combined for a block to make it 20-18, but that was as close as Mac would get the rest of the set before they fell 25-20.

Sophomore Elizabeth Joo (San Jose, Calif./Valley Christian) led off set four for the Scots to give them an early lead, but the Auggies stuck around once more to make it 15-15. Then, sophomore Greta Seppanen (St. Paul, Minn./Como Park) went on a serving run, capped with back-to-back aces to make it 19-15. Augsburg refused to fall and took a 22-21 lead before Mac brought up the first set point at 24-23. Then, the duel began.

In the battle that followed, Anene logged four kills, Cohen-Richie nabbed two and junior Sydney Stratton (North Liberty, Iowa/Liberty) got one, but Macalester couldn't survive two kills from Elizabeth Oster and fell 33-31 at last, after surviving five match points.

Anene finished with 16 kills and 18 digs, Cohen-Richie had 14 kills, 14 digs and four aces, and Morrow had 38 assists, 16 digs, four blocks and two aces. Joo had 21 digs and Oji had six blocks.

The Scots see their next action tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 25, against Bethel at 7 p.m. in Arden Hills, Minn. Including that match, Mac has just four games left in the season.