Weekend preview

Several events this weekend in Augsburg athletics. Here's a preview (our preview of the football team's season-opener will come later today).

The volleyball team hosts the 27th annual Augsburg Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Si Melby Hall. Sixteen matches in two days, starting at 2 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday. Augsburg is 4-1 after a second-place finish at the Ripon (Wis.) Early Bird Invitational last weekend and a 59-minute sweep of Crown on Wednesday night.

Augsburg's first opponent on Friday (2 p.m.), Schreiner University of Texas, is 2-0 under new head coach Phillip White, who had previously served as an assistant for both the men's and women's programs at the University of Southern California. Augsburg's second opponent on Friday (6 p.m.) is Wisconsin-Eau Claire, ranked No. 19 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III preseason national poll. The Blugolds are 2-2, after competing at the Washington (Mo.) Invitational last weekend in St. Louis. You can listen to Augsburg's match against Wisconsin-Eau Claire tonight on the Augsburg website. On Saturday at 9 a.m., the Auggies face MIAC foe Macalester -- a team the Auggies will face three times in regular-season play this year. The Scots are 2-0 after topping Martin Luther and Crown last weekend.

On the other side of the eight-team invitational are St. Benedict (3-1), Wisconsin-Superior (3-1), Northwestern-Roseville (1-1) and St. Thomas (3-1). The Tommies, coached by Augsburg alum Thanh Pham, are ranked No. 8 in the AVCA preseason national poll. Augsburg faced Wisconsin-Superior last weekend at the Ripon Invite, falling to the Yellowjackets in three games.

The women's soccer team, fresh off its third 1-0 victory in a row (Wednesday over Wisconsin-River Falls) to start the season, has its next three games on the road against teams that made the NCAA Division III national tournament, starting at No. 16-ranked Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Blugolds are 1-0-1 after a weekend of games in San Antonio, Texas, tying Hardin-Simmons 1-1 (2OT) and beating Trinity 3-2.

The men's golf team hosts the Augsburg Fall Invitational this Saturday and Sunday. Head coach Ted Vickerman has taken the Auggies all over the state for our home meets, and this year is no exception. Both days will be in Hutchinson, Minn. -- at the Oakdale Golf Club on Saturday (tee times start at 9 a.m.) and the Crow River Golf Club on Sunday (9 a.m. shotgun start). Twelve teams will be competing at the Augsburg Fall Invitational, including eight MIAC programs.

The women's golf team competes at the Concordia-Moorhead Invitational on Saturday and Sunday at the Wildflower Golf Club in Detroit Lakes, Minn. Ten teams are in competition at the Concordia Invitational, including MIAC foes Carleton, Concordia, St. Mary's and St. Benedict.