Augustana volleyball climbs with Bute
The Vikings hold an 11-7 conference record and will seek a higher tournament seed against two ranked opponents this weekend.
By Talia Bennett ·
Augustana University volleyball head coach Erika Bute has guided her team to an 11-7 record in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. The Vikings enter the final weekend of the regular season with a chance to improve their tournament seeding. They currently hold the No. 7 seed in the eight-team field and could move as high as No. 5 or drop to No. 8 depending on results.
The coaching change occurred in mid-June 2026. Jennifer Jacobs, who led the program for nearly a decade, announced her departure on June 16. She stepped down to pursue opportunities outside of coaching. Athletic director Josh Morton began a rapid search for her replacement. On June 29, the university hired Bute, a former Augustana captain and two-year coach at Bemidji State. She returned to her alma mater with less than two weeks of practice time remaining before the season started.
Bute, 25, turned 26 on Tuesday. She played for Augustana from 2019 to 2023. Her final season overlapped with six current seniors on the roster. In 2024, she served as an assistant coach at Bemidji State before becoming interim head coach for the final seven games. That promotion made her the youngest Division II head volleyball coach in the country at age 23.
The team started the 2026 season 6-2 in non-conference matches. They then went 3-6 in their first nine NSIC games. That stretch included four losses to nationally ranked teams. Since October 9, Augustana has gone 8-1 in league play. The team allowed only nine set losses during that run.
Two recent victories demonstrate the team's improvement. On October 16, the Vikings swept then-No. 17 Minnesota Duluth 3-0 at the Elmen Center. That was their first straight-set win over a ranked team since 2019. On Saturday, they defeated then-No. 13 St. Cloud State 3-0 on Senior Day. The final set score was 25-21.
Statistically, the squad ranks second in the conference in assists per set at 13.5. Senior setter Kiylah Franke leads the team with 963 total assists. The Vikings also rank second in kills per set with 14.4. Senior Reagan Jansen has 312 kills and 307 digs this season. Senior Maya Wente has 284 kills and 85 blocks.
The team faces Winona State and No. 8 Concordia-St. Paul on the road this weekend. Results from those matches will determine their final standing in the conference. The NSIC quarterfinals begin Tuesday. The top four seeds will host their matches. Semifinals and the championship game will take place next week.
Bute retained Ally Barth as interim assistant coach. Barth is a 2026 North Dakota State graduate. The staff also includes Damien Fox, a part-time recruiting coordinator. Fox previously spent six years as an assistant at St. Olaf College. He helped guide that team to two NCAA tournament appearances. Bute noted that the team has 22 athletes, a large roster for the sport.
