Katie Richard - Vikings Athletics 

CAMROSE, Alta - After a well-deserved holiday season, the Augustana Vikings women's volleyball team picked up right where they left off in 2023. Rookie standout Taryn Watson delivered the best night of her young Vikings career with an impressive 8 kills on the night, while highly decorated veteran Shae Boyes collected another 17 kills along with three aces. 

Across the court, Trojans setter and player of the game Grace Florence had 23 assists on the evening and added two kills. 

The Vikings would strike first with a solid performance showing little sign of rust winning the first set with a score of 25-18. However, that lead was quickly lost after a convincing 25-11 second set victory from the Trojans.

Eventually, the Vikings experience began to pay off as Kari White began to slow the game down and showed poise leading the Vikings to a 25-21 victory in the third set. White would end the night with 39 assists also adding one kill. The spread-out offence from the Vikings would prove to be too much for Sait as the Vikes would take the fourth and final set.

The win keeps the Augustana Vikings near the top of the ever-competitive ACAC North Conference sitting in third place with a record of 8 wins and 3 losses. Meanwhile, the Trojans will enjoy a weekend off before they make the final push to the ACAC playoffs. 

The Vikings will be on the road Saturday to Olds College to face the Broncos at 6pm. All the action can be found on ACACTV.