The Aurora University women's volleyball team took on Dominican University in the 2017 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference opener on Wednesday night. The Spartans defeated the Stars 3-1.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Aurora University 3; Dominican University 1 (25-12, 20-25, 25-15, 25-23)
LOCATION: River Forest, Illinois - Iginli Gymnasium
RECORDS: Aurora University 5-3; 1-0 NACC - Dominican University 2-6; 0-1 NACC
 
FOR THE SPARTANS
- Emily Lines had a double-double with 46 assists and 10 digs.
- Katie Vondra had a double-double with 18 kills and 16 digs.
- Rachel Martens had 13 kills and two blocks.
- Ava Pauly had 11 kills.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first set saw the Spartans jump out to an early 7-1 lead and went on to an easy 25-12 win.
- The second set was close throughout with the teams trading points and the set was tied 20-20. Dominican scored the final five points to win 25-20.
- The third set again saw AU jump out to a fast lead, 6-0 and then 8-1. Dominican never got any closer than eight points within AU before the Spartans rolledoff a 25-15 win.
- The teams started the fourth set going back and forth in tallying points. Wth the set tied 14-14, Rachel Martens earned a kill with an assist from Emily Lines to give AU a lead they would not relinquish. Dominican made a late rally to get within one at 24-23 but a Star hitting error gave the Spartans the final set and match point, 25-23.
 
SPARTAN TEAM LEADERS
Kills: Katie Vondra (18), Rachel Martens (13) and Ava Pauly (11)
Assists: Emily Lines (46)
Blocks: Rachel Martens (2)
Digs: Julia Wood (17), Katie Vondra (16), Nikki Lofshult (12) and Emily Lines (12)
Aces: Emily Lines, Katie Vondra, Makayla Fincher and Mikayla Lanasa (1)
 
UP NEXT
Next action for the Spartan women's volleyball team comes on Friday, September 15 when they travel to Elmhurst College. AU takes on Elmhurst at 4 pm and Calvin College at 6 pm in Elmhurst, Illinois.