No. 6 seed Augustana College (SD) (15-13) pulled a first round upset over the No. 3 seed #19 University of Nebraska-Omaha (21-7) in three games (30-28, 30-24, 30-27) in the NCAA North Central Regional quarterfinals played at the Gangelhoff Center on the campus of host Concordia University-St. Paul.

The Vikings were led by Ellen Andrews, who recorded a match-high 16 kills and pitched in six blocks (two solo). She hit .438 for the match with just two errors in 32 attacks. Terrin Post was the only other player for Augustana to reach double-digit kills with 13 as she hit .423 with two errors in 26 attacks.

The Augie defense was led by libero Abby Schmidt who posted 21 digs and added five service aces. The Viking setter, Lisa Hoegh, put up 40 set assists and set the Augie attack to a .286 hitting pct. for the match.

Nebraska-Omaha was led by Carlie Christensen's 14 kills and four blocks. She hit a team-high .357 for the match. Christina Reicks added a double-double for the Mavericks with 11 kills and 12 digs. The defense was led by libero Stacie Wemhoff's match-high 27 digs. UNO's setter, Katie Agnew, dished out 49 set assists and added eight digs.

The story of the match for Augustana was blocks and serving. Augie outblocked UNO 12.0 to 4.0 and had eight service aces to UNO's seven. However, the Mavericks committed 10 service errors while Augustana had just three.

The Vikings will advance to the regional semifinals and will take on the No. 2 seed #5 Minnesota Duluth at 5:00 on Friday.

Quotes:

 "I give a tremendous amount of credit to Augustana, they played with an attacking mentality. They came to win this game. Our team was passive, I think we were shocked by Augustana's aggressiveness. I felt as if from the first whistle we let Augustana attack us, we became passive. With the feeling of being attacked it becomes difficult to feel like you can dig yourself out of a hole. We allowed Augustana to take control of the match. They came to win this game."

Christina Reicks (Sr., OH, Bellevue, Neb.): "We tried to make a big deal of little plays. We practiced them double blocking me, it's something you expect as a senior."

Stacie Wemhoff (Sr., Lib, Humphrey, Neb.): "We practice pressure all the time, I trust these girls. It's trust, we know how to handle pressure."

Augustana

Head Coach Kim Sudbeck: "As the cliche' goes, the third time's a charm. Playing them last Tuesday helped us. Nothing changed in our game plan, we just executed it."

"Every situation was different.  The first match we didn't know what to think of UNO.  The second match we played with a lot of pressure on our shoulders just trying to make it into the playoffs."

"We played a competitive schedule, maybe the ball was in our court. I'm very proud of these kids. The tables turned today."

Andrea Oswald (Sr., MB, Pilger, Neb.): "This could've been my last game, I didn't want to lose to them to end my career.

"This was the only opportunity we had to beat UNO. I think our attack mentality pushed them onto their heels."

Abby Schmidt (Sr., Lib, Elkhorn, Neb.): "I felt it the minute I stepped on the court that something good was going to happen."

"We didn't play scared. Everyone played their role."