WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State University volleyball team entered their Tuesday night matchup with Upper Iowa University having won four straight NSIC matches and looking to score one more Warrior win on home court before returning to the road this weekend.

Standing in their way were the Upper Iowa University Peacocks, who, like the Warriors, came into the contest with a 4-4 NSIC record and plans to continue moving up the league standings.  In a tightly contested match eventually decided by defense, the Warriors beat Upper Iowa, 3-1.

The first two sets set the table for the tempo on the evening, as Upper Iowa outlasted a late WSU charge in the first frame to win 25-22, but Winona State turned the tables in the second set, beating the Peacocks, 25-16.

After the intermission, the two teams were separated by the thinnest of margins, trading the lead in the set several times late in set three. Warrior defense was the key down the stretch in the set, with WSU tracking down several Upper Iowa swings that looked destined to be points for the visitors. To the delight of the vocal home crowd, the persistence paid off, as the Warriors would earn the final two points to take set three, 28-26.

Set four saw Winona State break away early on, holding leads of 18-14 and 22-18 before Upper Iowa finally ran out of gas, giving the Warriors the final 25-19 scoreline. The victory marked the fifth-straight WSU win in a row at home in McCown Gymnasium, home of WNB Financial Court. 

Offensively, Winona State was led by Sidney Paulson and Madison Larson with 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Jaci Winchell handed out an impressive 39 assists in running the Warrior attack and collected a pair of service aces along the way. 

On defense, WSU had Kylie Welch earn 29 digs to lead the team, an effort that was emblematic of the Winona State mindset on the night.  The Warriors tracked down 104 total digs as a team, a season-high; WSU had previously racked up 99 digs as a squad on Sept. 17 against nationally-ranked Wayne State College.  In addition to Welch's impressive dig mark, Lydia Lange led WSU with four blocks on the evening. 

With the win, Winona State (9-7, 5-4 NSIC) will travel to the University of Minnesota Duluth for 6 p.m. match against the Bulldogs on Friday, Oct. 7. The next day, Winona State will play at St. Cloud State, starting at 2 p.m. against the Huskies.