WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Winona State University volleyball team had their historic season come to a close after falling to Washburn University in the NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament, 3-1 (25-12, 19-25, 25-19, 25-17).
The match opened with each team trading points before the Warriors jumped out to an early 7-5 lead. Washburn then went on a tear and won 18 of the next 20 points to earn a commanding advantage at 23-9. WSU won three of the next four, but the Ichabods closed out the set with a score of 25-12. The Warriors had just six kills and hit for 11 errors in the first set as Washburn tallied five total blocks to deny the WSU attack.
The second set started back-and-forth early on before Washburn jumped out to a 10-7 lead. Winona State was able to bounce back and tie the set at 11 apiece after an overpass kill by
Cori Meyers. The biggest momentum-swing of the set came when
Casey Volkmann made a diving, one-handed dig to extend a rally where Meyers and
Megan Flom finished it off with a block to put WSU up 17-13. Winona State held on to their lead to win the second set 25-19. The Warriors hit for 16 kills and forced nine Washburn attack errors en route to tying the match at 1-1.
After the Warriors won the first two points of the third set, the Ichabods went on a run and took an 8-3 lead. Washburn maintained their lead through the middle of the set to force
Joe Getzin to take a timeout as WSU trailed 9-16. Winona State tried to battle back, but the Ichabods won the set 25-16.
In the must-win fourth set, each team traded points before Washburn took an 15-11 lead after an 8-2 scoring run. A
Sidney Paulson kill stopped the bleeding momentarily, but the Ichabods extended their lead to 18-13 soon after. Winona State was unable to comeback and lost the fourth set, 17-25, and the match 1-3.
Winona State was led by Flom and Paulson on the attack where they hit for 17 and 13 kills, respectively.
Bre Maloney recorded a double-double with 36 assists and 11 digs, while
Becca Pagel led WSU with 18 digs. Paulson (12), Volkmann (10), and
Rylee Vaughn (10) all recorded double-digit digs, and
Madison Rizner and Flom each recorded four blocks in a strong defensive effort.
The Warriors close the season with a program-record .848 winning percentage after amassing a 28-5 overall record, including going 17-3 within the mighty Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
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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.
