WINONA, Minn. – Winona State looks to shake off a disappointing loss to Upper Iowa on Tuesday with a weekend road trip to Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State. Both teams are currently ahead of the Warriors in the NSIC standings entering the final four weeks of the season.
First serve against the No. 7-ranked Duluth Bulldogs is slated for 6 p.m. on Friday and game time at St. Cloud State is set for Saturday at 2 p.m.
Winona State 9-11 (6-6 NSIC) has lost back-to-back matches for the first time since early September, but has won six of its last nine contests. The Warriors are seeking their third win over a ranked opponent on Saturday against Duluth.
Saturday's tilt has even more on the line as Winona State looks to avenge a loss in Duluth last year to the Bulldogs that ended the Warriors' 2017 season in the first round of the playoffs, 3-2.
WSU enters the weekend ranked fourth in the NSIC in blocks/set (2.15). Senior Sophie Wilker leads the team in total blocks (72) and ranks fifth in the league in blocks/set (1.07). Madison Rizner is second on the team with 61 blocks and ranks fourth with 117 kills.
Sophomore Megan Flom has a team-best 209 kills and ranks 17th in the conference in kills/set (2.99). Freshman Cori Meyers is second on the team in kills (170), followed by senior Taylor Goar (129). Goar's 1,190 career kills rank fifth all-time in program history. She has seven double-doubles (digs/kills) this year.
Setter Bre Maloney has a team-leading 12 double-doubles (assists/digs) and set a new career high with 55 assists last weekend against Northern State. Maloney has set the Warrior offense to a .201 attacking percentage this season, which has been on the rise as of late.
Libero Becca Pagel leads the back row with 291 digs and ranks 11th in the NSIC in digs/set (3.93).
Scouting Duluth
The Bulldogs (17-4, 10-2 NSIC) are currently third in the loaded conference standings. Duluth enters Friday's match having won two straight and its undefeated (7-0) at home. The Bulldogs have won eight of their last 10 matches overall.
Duluth ranks fifth in the NSIC in hitting percentage (.261) and is second in opponents' hitting percentage (.147). The Bulldogs play big at the net with the second-most kills/set in the league (14.54) and defensively with the second-most blocks/set (2.30).
Abby Thor leads the Bulldogs in hitting percentage (.320) and Makenzie Morgen ranks ninth in the NSIC in kills/set (3.31). Thor's 1.08 blocks/set rank third in the league.
Winona State's last win over Duluth came on December 1, 2016 in the first round of the NCAA Regional.
Scouting St. Cloud
The Huskies (11-7, 7-5 NSIC) have lost four of their last six matches and host Upper Iowa on Friday prior to Saturday's match with Winona State. St. Cloud enters the weekend seventh in the NSIC standings, one game ahead of WSU. The Huskies have defeated two ranked opponents this season in Minnesota Duluth and SMSU.
St. Cloud's .210 attacking percentage and 13.34 kill/set rank just ahead of Winona State on the year. The Huskies rank third in the league in digs/set (16.98).
Clara Krenz leads the NSIC in digs/set (5.11) from the back row and has a team-best 21 service aces. Rachel Linsey leads the Huskies in kills/set (3.92).
Winona State has won five straight matches against St. Cloud dating back to 2014.
