WINONA, Minn. – No. 16 Winona State University returns to McCown Gymnasium for match two of three in a six-day span – all against opponents ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25. The Warriors host (RV) Minnesota Sate Mankato on Saturday which begins the countdown on the final two weeks of the regular season. First serve is slated for 2 p.m.

WSU was swept at No. 22 Upper Iowa on Thursday and travels to No. 6 CSP Tuesday to wrap up this stretch. Following Saturday's match, the Warriors have just on weekend series remaining at home.

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SCOUTING MANKATO: The Mavericks (15-7, 8-6 NSIC) are currently one game behind WSU in the NSIC standings, tied for seventh with four other teams, looking to secure one of the final two postseason spots. Mankato was most recently swept by No. 6 CSP on Thursday. The Mavericks have an impressive 5-2 road record this season, including a 3-1 win at nationally-ranked Upper Iowa two weeks ago. Offensively, the Mavericks rank fourth in the NSIC in attacking percentage (.262), while ranking 11th on the other side of the net in opponent hitting percentage (.207). Mankato is near the middle of the league in blocks/set (1.76) and ranks 14th in digs/set (14.13) which the Warriors will look to exploit. Morgan Olson leads the NSIC and ranks 10th in the country in kills/set (4.65) and is 10th in the conference in hitting percentage (.337). Teammate Ashton Lee ranks 11th with a .336 clip. WSU has won three of the last five meetings with Mankato.

SCARY GOOD: Junior Megan Flom enters the weekend leading the NSIC in hitting percentage and ranks seventh in the country with a .407 clip. Flom is hitting .462 vs. NSIC opponents thanks in large part to a spectacular month of October. Last month, the middle hit a blistering .493 while recording double-digit kills in nine of 10 matches. Flom was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week twice in October and the AVCA Division II National Player of the Week on October 8th. Flom's 3.99 kills/set (4.31 vs. NSIC) rank seventh in the league this year. She is also second on the team in solo blocks (10) and total blocks (52).

YOU GO, WE GO: Winona State's offense ranks second in the NSIC and eighth among all Division II teams (.268) due in large part to the play of setter Bre Maloney. The junior's 10.73 assists/set rank fifth in the league which is currently a career high. Maloney has set the Warrior offense to a .300 or better clip eight times this year including a .507 mark vs. Purdue Northwest – the second-best single-game clip in program history. Maloney enters Saturday's match with 1,943 career assists which rank eighth in program history.

OUTSIDERS: The Warriors have shown plenty of depth at the outside hitter position this year with Paige Christopher, Kate Masberg, Cori Meyers and Madison Larson each taking over 200 swings. Larson, a freshman, leads the quartet in kills (160) and kills/set (2.67) with Christopher, a sophomore, close behind at 2.62 kills/set. Masberg's 143 kills are already a new career high, surpassing her freshman total of 138 from two years ago.

BLOCK PARTY: Richland Center native Madison Rizner has emerged as one the league's premier middle blockers in her sophomore campaign. Rizner ranks third in the NSIC in blocks/set (1.05) and 16th in hitting percentage (.311). She leads WSU in solo blocks (15) and total blocks (84) while also ranking second on the team in kills (169). Rizner has already set new career highs in solo blocks and kills after an impressive freshman campaign in 2018 and continues to be a vital part of the Warriors' success.

HOME STRETCH: Following this weekend, WSU has five matches remaining on their regular season schedule, including three against Top 25 teams. The Warriors will look for a season sweep of No. 6 CSP on Tuesday before heading North for their final road trip at Bemidji State and Crookston next weekend. Winona State concludes its challenging slate inside McCown Gymnasium against No. 13 St. Cloud (Nov. 15 – Parents Night) and No. 5 Minnesota Duluth (Nov. 16 – Senior Day). The top eight teams qualify for the NSIC Tournament on Nov. 22-24 at the Sanford Pentagon. The first of three NCAA Regional Rankings will also be released next week with the top eight teams in each qualifying for the Regional Tournament.