SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The second-seeded Winona State University volleyball team is set to play top-seeded St. Cloud State in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Volleyball Tournament Championship today. First serve is scheduled for 3pm at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Warriors are in search for their first-ever NSIC Tournament championship. WSU has appeared in one championship match but fell short to Concordia-St. Paul in 2015.
Winona State (28-3, 17-3 NSIC) took down Upper Iowa in the quarterfinals 3-1. WSU dominated the first two sets before dropping the third, but the Warriors took care of business in the fourth set to advance to the semis. WSU then defeated Augustana in an exciting five-set match where the Warriors rallied back after facing four match-points to advance to the finals.
St. Cloud State (26-4, 19-1) defeated Southwest Minnesota State with ease in the quarterfinals by a score of 3-0. In the semifinals, they were down two sets to one before winning the fourth and fifth sets to earn their right into the championship game.
The Warriors and Huskies faced off earlier this year in a back-and-forth, five-set affair where SCSU had the upper hand, defeating WSU 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 27-25, 21-25, 15-11). Winona State was led by a balanced attack off
Bre Maloney's career-high 59 assists in the match.
Throughout the first two rounds of the NSIC Volleyball Tournament, WSU has been led by
Megan Flom's 30 kills at an average of 3.33 per set.
Sidney Paulson and
Madison Larson have connected for 26 and 25 kills, respectively, over the two matches. Maloney is averaging 9.44 assists per set, has recorded 10 kills, and has collected 22 digs to go along with nine total blocks.
On the defensive side,
Becca Pagel leads the way with 41 digs across the first two rounds. Paulson (31),
Casey Volkmann (19), and
Rylee Vaughn (15) all have double-digit digs as well. Flom and Paulson lead the way with 13 total blocks, and
Madison Rizner has 11.
The winner of the NSIC Volleyball Tournament receives and automatic bid into the NCAA Central Region Tournament.
For the most up to date news in Warrior Athletics, please visit:
www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and
@WinonaStateATH.
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.
