The Austin volleyball team is still chasing its first Big Nine win of the season, but it put up another solid fight as it lost to Red Wing in four games by scores of 25-22, 25-16, 23-25, 25-21 in Packer Gym Tuesday.

Austin (4-19 overall, 0-8 Big Nine) bounced back from an 18-12 deficit to win the third game, and it led the fourth game 20-17 after an Amber Hansen kill, but the Wingers (7-11 overall, 3-5 Big Nine) were able to close things out.

Red Wing did most of its damage with Sydney Book, a 6-1 hitter, who put together a variety of kills to hold off the Packers.

“We wanted to try and keep the ball away from her,” Austin head coach Cindy Owen said. “We tried to serve to her to take her out of her hitting game, but that didn’t work because she’s a very good passer. We successfully blocked her a couple of times down the line and forced her to go cross court, but our level of play was really inconsistent.”

Before the match, Austin senior Kelsey Sederquest was honored for achieving her 1,000th career dig. Sederquest is now Austin’s all-time dig leader and she had 24 digs against the Wingers.

Sederquest credits Helen Jahr for moving her to libero in her freshman season and she’s been diving and sliding all over the court ever since.

“I’ve always been about hustling after every ball. You never want to let a ball drop. You have to go after everything and it feels really good when you get a really good dig,” Sederquest said. “It’s always been my goal to get 1,000. I just wanted to keep pushing myself to get it and now that I’ve got it, I just want to keep pushing it so my team can pull out a win. Our main goal the whole year has been to get a [Big Nine] win.”

Owen said that Sederquest’s presence in the back row has been crucial for the Packers over the past few years.

“Kelsey’s really developed over the last three years,” Owen said. “She’s become very good at reading the block and knowing where to be. She hustles on every play and she’s a real asset to the team. I’m very proud of Kelsey and that accomplishment for her.”

The Austin volleyball team hasn’t had a Big Nine win since 2011, but its won at least one match game in six of its eight conference matches this season. The Packers have just three Big Nine matches remaining this season against Rochester Century, Mankato East and Owatonna.

“We’re running out of chances here,” Owen said. “We’ve got three teams left on the conference schedule and everyone of those teams will be trying to better themselves for the playoffs.”

Austin stats: Shayley Vesel, 8 kills, 15 set assists, 11 digs, 10 points serving; Ashley Hawkshead, 15 kills, 7 digs, 7 blocks, 6 points serving; Kelsey Sederquest, 24 digs; Abi Collins, 8 points serving, 5 blocks; Lauryn Bell, 7 points serving, 5 set assists; Amber Hansen, 8 kills, 6 blocks; Marissa Hart, 5 set assists; Awenia Nywesh, 7 digs