Kenosha, Wis. - The Thunder volleyball fell in a hard-fought 3-1 loss to Augustana on Friday afternoon in the semifinals of the CCIW Volleyball Tournament. Wheaton rallied to earn a 31-29 victory in the first game, however, Augustana won the next three games: 33-31, 30-25 and 37-35.

In game one, neither team held a lead of more than two points until the Vikings snapped a 26-26 tie with three straight points to take a 29-26 lead. Wheaton rallied with the final five points in the game to earn a 31-29 win in the opener.

Augustana led Wheaton 26-21 in the second game, however, the Thunder utilized a 9-3 run to take a 30-29 lead. The two teams battled to a 31-31 tied when Augustana scored the final two points to win, 33-31. In the third game, the Vikings led 18-11 when the resilient Thunder again battled back with a scoring run of 10-3 to take a 22-21 lead. Augustana closed out the game with a 7-2 run of its own to earn the 30-25 victory.

In game four, it was Wheaton with an early lead as the Thunder held a 15-10 advantage when the Vikings put together a 10-3 run to take a 19-18 lead. Augustana (Ill.) held a 27-24 lead. However, Wheaton scored the next three points to tie the game at 27-27. The two teams battled through eight more ties with the final one coming at 35-35 when Augustana scored the final two points to earn the 37-35 victory and move on to the CCIW Tournament Championship Match on Saturday at 2 PM.