MILWAUKEE – It is good to see MSOE men's volleyball back on the court. 11 months after their bid for back-to-back NACC tournament crowns was cut short thanks to the pandemic, the Raiders opened up a new season the same way they ended the last one: with a victory. It went all the way down to the very end but the Red & White earn their first win of 2021 in five sets.

RESULTS
Augustana – 2 (20, 26, 21, 25, 14)
MSOE Raiders – 3 (25, 24, 25, 22, 16)

HOW IT HAPPENED
This one truly fit the mold of a back-and-forth affair. There was over 30 ties and 15 different lead changes in this afternoon's ballgame between MSOE (1-0, 0-0 NACC) and Augustana (0-1, 0-0 CCIW). The Raiders won the first set 25-20 behind a .276 hitting percentage and almost pulled out the next one as well before two straight Viking kills evened up the match at one all. Set three once again went MSOE's way but the Red & White would drop the fourth, even after hitting .360. Neither team led by more than two points in the fifth and deciding frame, but it was the Raiders that took advantage of two Augustana attack errors to give the good guys their first win of the young campaign 16-14.

RAIDER REMARKS

• The Raiders now move to a perfect 3-0 against the Vikings in their series history.
• Jacob Sirny's nine total blocks place him in a four-way tie for second most in a single game in Raiders history.

MSOE STAT TRACKER
Kills – Austyn Bella (13)
Digs – Daniel Drag (14)
Assists – Lucas Miller (32)
Aces – Three with two
Blocks – Jacob Sirny (1 solo, 8 assists)

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders will continue their march towards NACC play when they take on North Central (Ill.) on Tuesday. First serve from Naperville, Ill. is slated for 7:00 pm

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at www.go-raiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.