WINONA, Minn. – Following a split on the road last weekend, Winona State University returns to McCown Gymnasium where the Warriors will play five of their final nine matches on the regular season schedule. WSU hosts UMary on Friday at 6 p.m. with a short turnaround prior to Saturday's 11 a.m. matinee with Minot State.
The Warriors have won seven of their last nine outings and have reached their highest AVCA ranking of the year at No. 17. WSU suffered just its second sweep of the season last Friday at No. 6 Northern State before returning the favor in straight sets at MSU Moorhead to conclude the road trip.
The Warriors, currently tied for fifth in the NSIC standings, look to improve their playoff position this weekend against a pair of teams that rank in the bottom two of the league in hitting percentage and opponent attacking percentage.
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SCOUTING UMARY: The Marauders (1-19, 0-11 NSIC) have dropped 14 straight with their lone win this year coming against New Mexico Highlands University. UMary is last in the NSIC in both hitting percentage (.104) and opponent hitting percentage (.248). On the flip side, Winona State ranks fourth in the NSIC in attacking percentage (.259) – a mark that ranks 12th in the nation. Over their last eight matches, the Warriors have recorded a .276 clip. The Marauders also rank last in the league in blocks/set (1.29) but are seventh in digs/set (15.43). Morgan Schnabel has a team-best 210 kills (2.92 kills/set), but has been plagued by 147 attacking errors. The next highest kill total on the team in Anna Nietfeld (94). Natalia Cruz has a team-high 269 digs and 19 service aces.
SCOUTING MINOT STATE: The Beavers (1-19, 0-11 NSIC) have lost seven in a row and travel to No. 21 on Friday prior to Saturday morning's match in Winona. Minot State's lone win this season was a sweep over UMary. The Beavers rank second-to-last in the NSIC in hitting percentage (.134), opponent hitting percentage (.244) and blocks/set (1.38). Minot State's 51 service aces are the fewest in the league and the Beavers rank last in digs/set (13.44). The Beavers' biggest offensive weapon, Shelby Spuller, leads the team in total kills (206) and ranks 12th in the league in kills/set (3.18).
SPOOKY SZN: Named the NSIC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this month, Megan Flom has been a monster for the Warriors since the calendar turned to October. The junior middle/outside leads the NSIC in hitting percentage (.397) which ranks ninth in the country. Flom's 3.93 kills/set rank eighth in the league. During Winona State's 11 NSIC matches, Flom has hit an eye-popping .460 with 4.31 kills/set. She has hit .500 or better in four of the last six matches, including a career-best .575 clip in the Warriors' milestone win over then-No. 5 CSP. Flom has recorded at least 10 kills in nine straight matches.
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: With Flom leading the offense, Winona State has gotten plenty of other contributions up and down the roster, including several explosive young players. Sophomore Madison Rizner ranks second on the team in total kills (151), followed by freshman Madison Larson (150) and second-year player Paige Christopher (112) who ranks fifth. Larson's 2.73 kill/set rank second on the team followed by Christopher (2.55). Christopher floored a career-best 19 kills two weeks ago against Augie and followed that up with 12 kills and a .500 hitting percentage vs. CSP. Larson floored 23 kills against nationally-ranked St. Cloud State earlier this year. Rizner also leads the team in total blocks (74) while ranking third in the NSIC in blocks/set (1.06). This season's mix of talented youth and veteran experience has helped Winona State already surpass last year's win total.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Junior setter Bre Maloney enters the weekend with 1,845 career assists which rank eighth in program history. Her 10.55 assists/set currently rank sixth in the NSIC this year and 27th nationally. Libero Becca Pagel's 1,242 career digs rank 13th in the WSU record book. The junior's 4.19 digs/set this season rank 12th in the league.
ODD MAN OUT: Including Winona State, eight of the 16 NSIC teams are ranked in the AVCA Top 25 this week, with two more teams receiving votes. The top eight teams in the conference qualify for the NSIC Tournament, slated for Nov. 22-24 at the Sanford Pentagon, meaning at least one team garnering national recognition won't even make the conference tourney, proving once again the incredible level of competition in this league.
