WINONA, Minn. -- Winona State kicks off its 2015 season on Friday, Sept. 4 at 11 a.m. for the first of three matches at the Gangelhoff Center in Concordia-St. Paul. The Warriors open the season against Central Washington before taking on No. 15 Palm Beach Atlantic at 7:30 p.m. WSU then finishes off the Concordia-St. Paul Tournament by facing the host and second-ranked Golden Bears at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Follow the action live via Concordia-St. Paul at www.winonastatewarriors.com/watch.
NO EASING IN: Despite a grueling NSIC schedule awaiting the Warriors, head coach
Joe Getzin didn't shy away from the chance to schedule tough opponents to start the year. Two of the three opponents the Warriors face this weekend are ranked in the AVCA preseason top 15 (CSP #2, PBA #15), while all three teams made the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
NO SENIORS: The 2015 edition of the Warrior squad will rely on its youth, as the roster features no seniors and just one junior - libero/defensive specialist
Jamie Cairncross. Instead, the Warriors boast eight sophomores and six true or redshirt freshmen.
SOPHOMORE STARS: Though the Warriors may be young, they are not inexperienced thanks to the stellar play last season from a number of talented freshmen.
Danielle Rampart,
Taylor Goar,
Lauren Kudronowicz,
McKenna Larsen, and
Kalyn Biever each made major contributions to the squad last season, starting the majority of the games as freshmen.
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Speaking of Rampart, her fantastic 2014 culminated by earning AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year honors. Rampart led the Warriors with 396 kills along with 4.12 kills per set, the latter of which was 2nd in the NSIC and 16th in DII.
GETZIN GETS IT GOING: There was not much in the way of growing pains for head coach
Joe Getzin, who took over the program following an 11-18 season in 2013. Getzin in 2014 immediately brought the Warriors to relevance in the tough NSIC, guiding his young team to a 19-8 mark and a fifth-place finish in the league after a preseason ranking of 11th.
PRESEASON POLL: Speaking of preseason polls, the Warriors have been picked 7th in the NSIC this season despite the team's fifth place finish in the league last year and despite returning all of its significant contributors from a year ago. Concordia-St. Paul - who the Warriors face Saturday - is the league favorite, followed by Southwest Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth, Wayne State, Northern State and Augustana.
THE NEWCOMERS: Though the Warriors return virtually their entire starting lineup from a year ago, that doesn't mean it'll look the same as last year. The Warriors brought in Iowa State transfer
Maria Fruechte to pack another punch, while
Hailey Chittenden,
Summer Larson,
Jordan Runge,
Sophie Wilker and
Maria Wrage all have chances to contribute as true freshman, as does
Michelle Polland, who redshirted last season.
LARSEN'S DOUBLE DUTY: Sophomore
McKenna Larsen had a terrific first year handling WSU's important setter responsibilities. Her 10.44 assists-per-set average ranked seventh in the NSIC while her 165 kills was the third most on the team. Her year didn't end with the volleyball season, though, as she went on to star on the WSU softball team in the spring, where she earned NSIC Freshman of the Year honors.
A LOOK AT THE WILDCATS: Central Washington, like the Warriors, finished 2014 with a 19-8 record, with a 12-6 mark in the GNAC. The Wildcats earned a berth in the NCAA West Regional, where they fell to BYU-Hawaii 3-1 in the opening round. The Warriors will have to look out for senior setter Catie Fry, a two-time All-American honoree who has 2,714 career assists.
A LOOK AT THE SAILFISH: Palm Beach Atlantic enters 2015 ranked No. 15 in the nation after a 30-4 overall record a year ago. The Sailfish made the finals of the NCAA Regional Tournament, beating No. 6-ranked West Florida 3-1 and No.2 Florida Southern 3-2 before falling to No. 1 Tampa 3-1. PBA is led by senior outside hitter Faith Rohn, who had a team-best 459 kills last season, which ranked 11th in DII.
A LOOK AT THE GOLDEN BEARS: Concordia-St. Paul saw its streak of seven straight national championships come to an end last season, but not before another strong season in which it went 27-6 with an 18-2 mark in the NSIC. CSP eventually had its season ended in the second round of the Regional Tournament by SMSU, which went on a run to the NCAA Division II championship game. Anna Schlaak returns for Concordia after recording 457 kills, while Kasey Williams returns as the Golden Bear setter after dishing out 1,480 assists last season and 12.44 per set.
