WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University volleyball team will wrap up Homecoming weekend action when the #9 Warriors face #16 St. Cloud State University on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 5pm.
The #9 Winona State (15-1, 6-1 NSIC) squad is coming off a historic win over #4 Concordia - St. Paul on Tuesday and a hard fought victory over Minnesota Duluth 3-1 on Friday event. In St. Paul, WSU beat CSP 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 25-18), dealing the Golden Bears a rare loss on their home court. The victory was the seventh-straight for Winona State and provides momentum as the Warriors head into just their third and fourth home matches of 2021. The win over UMD required the Warriors to bounce back from a dropped second set, after building up a 1-0 lead. Winona State responded, taking sets three and four for the win.
In the Minnesota Duluth match,
Madison Rizner racked up nine total blocks, including eight block assists, while
Madison Larson had a season-high 15 kills.
St. Cloud State is 11-4 overall and are 6-1 in their last seven matches, all league contests. The Huskies are #16 in the current AVCA poll, one of six NSIC squads featured in the Oct. 4 ranking. The only loss the Huskies have suffered in NSIC action was to Concordia - St. Paul by 3-1 scoreline and SCSU swept #5 Southwest Minnesota State 3-0 on Sept. 24. Kenzie Foley and Linsey Rachel lead the St. Cloud State offense, racking up 3.65 and 3.20 kills per set, respectively. Rachel has 161 digs on the year to lead her team while Rossi Phebie has 60 blocks in 2021 so far.
For #9 Winona State, a quick glance at the top of the NSIC statistical categories has a significant Warrior presence, both collectively and individually.
WSU leads the NSIC in team hitting percentage at .294, while holding opponents to the lowest mark in the league at .118. No team has dealt out more assists than Winona State at 690 and the Warriors have the best average kills per set mark at 14.65. Defensively, Winona State leads the league in digs per set at 17.25.
In NCAA Division II volleyball, Winona State is ninth overall in assists per set at 13.23 and is sixth nationally in hitter percentage at .294.
Individually,
Megan Flom leads the NSIC in hitting percentage at .478 while Warrior teammate
Madison Rizner is third with a .452 average. Flom also owns the top kill per set mark in the league at 4.35. Much of Flom's attacking success starts with setter
Bre Maloney, who is currently second in the NSIC in assists per set at 11.40.
Becca Pagel is the leader in the conference in digs per game, averaging over five digs per match. Earlier this year, Winona State racked up 113 digs in a four-set match at Ferris State University; that mark stands as the highest dig count in any match across the NSIC so far this year.
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www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and
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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.
