WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University volleyball team claimed an important - and impressive - home court win over Northern State University on Saturday, November 4 in McCown Gymnasium, home of WNB Financial Court.
Celebrating Senior Day, an energetic and exuberant home crowd drove WSU to a key NSIC victory over the nationally-ranked Wolves, with the Warriors battling in every set along the way.
Sidney Paulson racked up a monumental night, notching 17 kills en route to the victory on the final home regular season contest of the season. WSU seniors
Rylee Vaughn added 22 digs and
Taylor Pagel had a pair of blocks and seven kills to highlight the evening.
How it happened
The opening stanza set the table for what would be a back-and-forth NSIC affair. NSU held an early lead in set one at 12-8, but Winona State would chip away and eventually pull ahead following a series kills by Kenna Kornely and Sidney Paulson. With the McCown crowd behind them, Winona State notched the final four points of the set, with Paulson racking up three straight kills and eventually a Rylee Vaughn ace closed out the 25-23 set one Warrior win.
In the second frame, Northern State showed some of the form that found the Wolves nationally ranked throughout the season. NSU broke open a close first ten points with a six-point run to jump out to a 16-9 advantage. Two kills by Lydia Lange, followed by another Paulson kill, allowed WSU to briefly contain the Wolves' momentum. However, NSU continued to pull away from WSU, and closed out the set with a 25-20 Wolves win to even the match at 1-1.
In the third stanza, the Winona State offensive and defensive efforts combined to put together one of the most impressive sets of the Warriors' NSIC campaign. WSU would hold NSU to just 16 total points, thanks in part to a tremendous work rate that eventually led to a 82-65 advantage in digs overall on the night for the Warriors. Several of those digs came in the third set and directly from the outstanding play of Rylee Vaughn, leading to seven-point and six-point runs, respectively, as Winona State took the set 25-16.
The fourth frame saw WSU enjoy a 7-3 early advantage, but the Wolves would battle back to take a narrow 13-12 lead halfway through the set. After trading points back and forth, including a Gianna Vollrath kill, a five-point run for Winona State put the Warriors up 20-17, fueled by back-to-back service aces from Kylie Welch. After NSU took two successive points, WSU enjoyed kills from Jayda Berg, Sidney Paulson and senior Taylor Pagel to win the set 25-20, and the match, 3-1.
Beyond the box score
Winona State concludes 2023 with a 6-3 regular season record in McCown Gymnasium, home of WNB Financial Court.
WSU has gone 4-2 over their last six matches.
Following results around the league, WSU sits in fifth place overall.
Winona State is one of five NSIC teams to reach double-digits in league wins on the year so far.
Up Next
Winona State (18-7, 10-6 NSIC) will return to the road for a two-game NSIC road trip, taking on Southwest Minnesota State and the University of Sioux Falls on Nov. 10 and Nov. 11, respectively.
