WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University volleyball team will honor a pair of seniors and look to close out their 2023 regular season home slate with a win over Northern State University today in McCown Gymnasium, home of WNB Financial Court. The Warriors and Wolves will see first serve at 4 p.m.
Winona State is coming off a 3-1 win yesterday over MSU Moorhead; WSU fell in set one but stormed back to win the next three frames. Northern State lost 3-0 at #4 Concordia St. Paul on Friday evening. Winona State fell at NSU in Aberdeen 3-0 earlier this year. The Wolves own a slight edge in the all-time series, 38-33.
Both Winona State and Northern State are found in the first NCAA Division II Central Region rankings. The top 10, assorted in alphabetical order, features seven NSIC teams.
WINONA STATE STORYLINES
- Winona State will play this afternoon on a 17-7 record overall and 9-6 league ledger.
- WSU entered the weekend in sixth place in the NSIC.
- As a team, Winona State is hitting .211, averaging 12.7 kills, 11.7 assists, 17.2 digs, 1.8 blocks, and 1.4 aces per set
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Winona State has gone 2-2 in their last four matches.
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Rylee Vaughn, Gianna Vollrath, Sidney Paulson and Jaci Winchell all earned All-Tournament honors during the Warriors early season contests at Northern Michigan and Wisconsin Parkside, respectively.
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WSU was picked ninth in the 2023 NSIC Volleyball Coaches Poll.
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WSU narrowly missed out on an NSIC postseason bid last fall, finishing ninth with a 12-15 overall mark and 8-12 NSIC record.
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The Warriors played their first eight matches on the road, racking up a 7-1 record.
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WSU will feature seniors Rylee Vaughn, Lydia Lange, Sidney Paulson, and Taylor Pagel this season.
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Sidney Paulson was selected as 2023 WSU's Player to Watch by the NSIC.
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Two seasons ago, the Warriors qualified for the 2021 NSIC Tournament and the 2021 NCAA Division II postseason, finishing 28-5 overall and 17-3 in league play.
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Winona State features five freshmen: Sophia Armstrong, Ashlyn Steding, Quinn Robak, Kenna Kornely, and Jayda Berg. WSU also added transfer Leah Mach, a junior from Emporia State University.
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In his tenth year at Winona State, Getzin had previous stops at Embry Riddle (AZ), Portland and Ole Miss.
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Heading into 2023, Getzin is No. 1 all-time at Winona State in winning percentage (.682) and second all-time in seasons at the school (9).
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WSU returns assistant coaches Kristine Fisch, Jackie Kiecker, and Mara Quam to the Warrior sideline this fall.
Northern State STORYLINES
- The Wolves enter their final regular season road weekend with a 17-6 record overall and 9-5 mark in the Northern Sun
- NSU is hitting .215, averaging 12.8 kills, 11.9 assists, 17.7 digs, 1.3 blocks, and 1.7 aces per set
- Northern leads the NSIC in total blocks (196.5), total digs (1487), and digs per set (17.7) this season
- Natalia Szybinska leads the offense with 243 total kills, averaging 3.04 per set, while Abby Brooks is hitting a team leading .364 in 2023
- Keri Walker has 895 total assists on the year, averaging 10.65 per set, and is second on the team with 35 aces
- Reese Johnson leads the team from the service line with 36 aces and adds 206 total digs this season
- Abby Meister leads not only the Northern State defense but the league, averaging 5.87 digs per set with 487 digs total
- Brooks is also the leader at the net with 83.0 blocks, averaging 0.99 per set
- Northern sits fifth in the NSIC standings one game behind St. Cloud State
