WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University volleyball team, ranked #8 in the country, is set to host Southwest Minnesota State University and the University of Sioux Falls in a pair of key Northern Sun Intercollegiate Contests (NSIC) contests this weekend. The week seven contests are scheduled against the Mustangs on Friday, Oct. 15 at 6pm and against the Cougars on Saturday, Oct. 16 at 4pm in McCown Gymnasium, home of WNB Finanical Court.
In facing the Mustangs on Friday, #8 Winona State will take on the tenth-ranked team in the current AVCA poll, marking the fourth straight nationally ranked opponent for the Warriors. Over the last ten days,
Joe Getzin's squad has defeated #4 Concordia St. Paul on the road, dispatched #23 Minnesota Duluth at home and lost to #11 St. Cloud State in a five-set match last Saturday. At #8, Winona State has achieved the highest ranking for Warrior volleyball since the 2016 season in which the team was #5 in the preseason poll.
The Mustangs are 15-2 overall and 7-2 in NSIC play and have won four of their last five matches. Winona State and Southwest Minnesota both fell to Northern State and St. Cloud State, the only NSIC setbacks for either program. Collectively, the Mustangs are hitting .265, the fourth highest mark in the NSIC, while the Warriors have the best Conference hitting mark at .281. Each team has made strong defense a calling card of their play, with Southwest Minnesota State holding opponents to a league-lowest hitting percentage of .120, while Winona State is second in that stat category at .126. Angela Young leads SMSU and is second in the NSIC in kills per set average at 4.14 an outing.
In facing the University of Sioux Falls, the Warriors will see one of the top attacking players in the country in Averey Yaksich. Yaksich is sixth nationally in kills per set at 4.40 and a total kills mark of 277, the third best mark in the NCAA Division volleyball. The Cougars are 11-6 overall and sport a 6-3 NSIC record. Sioux Falls has won four straight matches, a winning streak that started with a 3-1 win over (RV) Northern State. Winona State defeated USF 3-0 on Oct. 4, 2019, the last time the two teams competed over two years ago.
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About Winona State University Athletics:
The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words:
Graduate Champions.
Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Winona State University competes as an affiliate member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in the sport of women's gymnastics.
