DECORAH, Iowa  – It's been a long time since anyone saw the Luther College volleyball team play in the comforts of home. The Norse returned to Regents Center with a vengeance Friday evening, as they faced some of their toughest competition of the 2022 season in #21 Augsburg University and Lawrence University. While Luther put up a fight against the nationally ranked Auggies, the team fell in its home opener 3-1 (19-25, 14-25, 25-21, 19-25) before rebounding with a 3-0 victory over the Vikings. With the split, the Norse are now 4-9 overall and 0-2 in American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) play. 

MATCH #1: Luther (1) vs. #21 Augsburg (3)
Luther did not look the least bit overmatched against #21 Augsburg, as the Norse hung with the Auggies point for point in the opening. In fact, Luther hit .233 in the first set, as the two teams found themselves deadlocked in a 7-7 draw 14 points into the match. However, Augsburg eventually gained some momentum, as back-to-back service aces allowed the Auggies to jump out to an 11-7 lead. 

The Norse tried to rally late in the set, but they could never overcome the early Augsburg serving run, falling 25-19 in the opener. The team's serve receive struggles carried into the second set, as Luther fell behind 4-2 and never truly recovered. Though they managed to cut the Auggie lead to 4-3 on a service error by Augsburg libero, the Norse quickly fell into a 7-3 hole and dropped the second set 25-14. 

The tides turned in the third. Again, the Norse hung with the Auggies point for point early in the set but fell behind 8-5 on two kills from Augsburg's outside Kayla Gjerde. However, a service error by right side Kevin Boysen sent Emma Kowalczyk (Colgate, Wis. / Catholic Memorial) behind the line to serve. The sophomore setter went on a five point service run, swinging the momentum in Luther's direction. 

With the crowd behind them, the Norse stormed to a 15-10 lead on an ace by sophomore libero Kyah Olson-Sola (Northfield, Minn. / Northfield) before kills by Kowalczyk and Kaitlyn Dailey (Utica, Minn. / St. Charles) gave Luther a significant 17-11 lead. Though Augsburg tried to whittle it down, the Norse built themselves enough of a buffer to secure the 25-21 victory on a kill by Emily Hagen (Owatonna, Minn. / Owatonna). 

Upset minded-Luther was poised for another run in the third as the Auggies continued to struggle on defense early in the fourth. Though Augsburg won seven of the final nine points of the third, the Norse maintained the momentum in the fourth, jumping out to a 3-1 lead on kills from Hagen and Hannah LaBonte (Lake City, Minn. / Lincoln). Even when the Auggies went on a run, Luther managed to stay within two points of the visitors, eventually tying the set 19-19 on back-to-back Augsburg attack errors. However, the Norse were unlucky in the final six points of the set, as the Auggies took the fourth 25-19 to claim the match 3-1 (19-25, 14-25, 25-21, 19-25). 

MATCH #2: Luther (3) vs. Lawrence (0)
Despite a disappointing loss in the home opener, the Norse rebounded with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-8) sweep of Lawrence, snapping their six-match losing streak in dominant fashion. First, Luther hit a (then) season high .483 in the opening set, while holding the Vikings to a near sub .000 average on defense. The Norse tallied 14 kills as a team and did not commit a single error, cruising to an impressive 25-14 win in the first. They were pretty much just as good in the second, as they took a 2-0 lead in the match behind a 16 kills, two error performance as an offense. 

However, Luther saved its best for the third and final set, shattering season records for team hitting percentage in the process. The Norse hit a whopping .632 as a team in the third and final set and tallied three aces. Luther also won a season-best nine consecutive points in the latter stages of the third set en route to a 25-8 win to claim the match in straight sets 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-8). 

TOP NORSE

• Brianna Highum (Waseca, Minn. / Waseca) hit .238 from the outside in the Norse loss to Augsburg, tallying 10 total kills, while Sarina Stortz (Mable, Minn. / Mable-Canton) led the team with 11 kills total. 
• Kaitlyn Dailey (Utica, Minn. / St. Charles) and Highum led the team with nine kills, as Dailey hit a team-leading and career-high .692 against the Vikings, while Stortz and Hannah Labonte (Lake City, Minn. / Lincoln) both hit over .600 from the middle. 
• Kyah Olson-Sola (Northfield, Minn. / Northfield) lead Luther with 13 digs apiece against both the Augies and Lawrence.

NOTABLES
Luther held Lawrence to just eight points in the final set of Friday's 7:00 p.m. match, which is the lowest total points any opponent has scored against the Norse in the last two seasons, according to available records. Luther additionally forced the Vikings into a -.014 hitting percentage as a team in the match, the lowest opponent hitting percentage against the Norse this season. 

QUOTABLES
Comments from head volleyball coach Brittany Sisk:

"It's been a long couple weeks on the road, and it was so nice to be home in front of our students and fans! I could not be more proud of how hard our team competed tonight. They worked hard to push the 21st ranked team in the nation and take a set from them. It was a great first day, and we're ready to close out the tournament tomorrow."

UP NEXT
Luther will close out the 2022 Norse Open at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 24 when the team hosts Carroll University in the penultimate match. Neutral site matches will begin at 10:00 a.m. in the Regents Center Gymnasium in Decorah, Iowa. 

For all the latest on Luther Volleyball, stay tuned to luthernorse.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.