ELMHURST, Ill. – In its fifth five-set match in the last eight days, the No. 10 UW-Stevens Point volleyball team outlasted Augustana (Ill.) 25-13, 13-25, 25-18, 21-25, 15-8 in the Pointers' first match at the Elmhurst College Invitational on Friday evening at R.A. Faganel Hall.
 
Box Score
 
After Augustana (7-5) won eight of the final 10 points in the fourth set to send the match to a final set, UW-Stevens Point (14-2) won seven of the last nine points in the match to close out the win. Of the five five-setters in the last eight days, the Pointers have won three.
 
UW-Stevens Point took a timeout after Augustana won two points in a row to get within 8-6 in the final set. After the timeout, the Pointers won five consecutive points and seven of the final nine, including four kills by Marie Krengel (Eagan, MN/Eastview).
 
Krengel registered her first-career double-digit kill effort, finishing with 10 kills and no errors with an attack percentage of .526. Prior to the match, the junior had a total of 13 kills in 323 sets in her career.
 
In addition to the career night offensively, Krengel had 21 digs and three block assists. Hannah Picel (West Bend, WI/West Bend West) made 26 digs to join Krengel as one of six UWSP players with double-digit digs in the win.
 
Gabby Thomas (Henderson, MN/LeSueur-Henderson) led UW-Stevens Point with kills and added 12 digs for her second double-double of the year. Kelly Cefalu (Waunakee, WI/Waunakee) had her fourth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 15 digs, while Ellen Drewry (Waunakee, WI/Waunakee) added 11 kills for the Pointers, who hit .149 in the win.
 
Jacquel Kibir-Evans and Martha Murray each had 14 kills for Augustana and Kibir-Evans hit .619 in the match. Kylie Siebert made a match-high 31 digs for the Vikings, who hit .115 in the loss.
 
UW-Stevens Point cruised through the first set by hitting .316 as Thomas had six kills and no errors. Augustana then hit .308 and held UWSP to a -.043 attack percentage in the second set to tie it up.
 
The Pointers heated back up to hit .351 in the third set to take a 2-1 lead and were six points from winning at 19-17 in the fourth before the Vikings sent the match the distance.
 
On day two of the tournament, UW-Stevens Point plays Wheaton (Ill.) at 12:30 p.m. and No. 16 Elmhurst at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26. The Pointers defeated the host Blue Jays in five sets on Sept. 19 in Kenosha, Wis.