WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University volleyball team returned to the raucous confines of McCown Gymnasium, home of WNB Financial Court and dealt Augustana University a 3-1 loss to move to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in NSIC play.
Winona State enjoyed strong student section support and the energy in the gym helped
Joe Getzin's team sink the Vikings ship from the opening set. Initially down 9-5 in the opening stanza, WSU battled back to win set one 25-21 and rode the momentum into the second set to go up 2-0. The third set saw Augustana pull back to a 2-1 scoreline, as the Warrior offense never quite got on track following the intermission. However, WSU returned to the form that was present in the opening two sets and closed the match out in four.
KEY DETAILS:
Final Score - Winona State 3, Augustana 1 (25-21, 25-11, 23, 20-25, 25-21).
Attendance: 491
HOW IT HAPPENED
Winona State had to battle back to claim the first set, and used a five-point run following a 15-15 tie midway through the fame put WSU on the front foot.
Lydia Lange finished off the scoring for Winona State with a kill from a
Jaci Winchell assist.
Set two saw WSU rack up one of their most dominating sets of the season, beating Augie 25-11. Winona State earned nine of the first 11 points of the stanza, and enjoyed leads of 14-5 and 20-8 throughout the frame. Back-to-back kills from Lange and
Taylor Pagel at the 20-point mark pushed WSU to the final 25-11 count.
In set three, WSU stumbled after taking a 5-2 lead early on. Augustana reeled off four points midway through the set to go up 20-15. Despite a pair of kills, one by
Sidney Paulson, followed by another moments later by
Lydia Lange to pull within two points at 21-19, the Vikings closed out the set to win 25-20.
Set four turned on a
Kylie Welch ace to tie the stanza at 12-12, capping a mid-set comeback after the Warriors fell behind by two, 12-10. The two teams traded points down the stretch, until
Jayda Berg put the match out of reach, knocking home the final two kills for the 3-1 Warrior win.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
With the 3-1 home court victory, WSU broke a two-game skid against Augustana and moved to 3-0 in league play for the first time since 2014. That year, WSU started 5-0 in NSIC action.
The Thursday night matchup between the Vikings and Warriors was the third straight NSIC contest to go four frames for Winona State. In fact, WSU has a 6-1 record in their last seven outings, with each victory a 3-1 final.
WINONA STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
Kills:
Lydia Lange, 13;
Sidney Paulson, 12;
Jayda Berg, 9.
Aces:
Kylie Welch, 3;
Jaci Winchell, 1.
Blocks:
Sidney Paulson, 6;
Taylor Pagel, 7;
Jayda Berg, 4.
Assists:
Jaci Winchell, 40;
Rylee Vaughn, 3;
Kylie Welch, 1.
Digs:
Rylee Vaughn, 12;
Sidney Paulson, 12;
Jaci Winchell, 11.
Augustana TOP PERFORMERS
Kia Kriener, 14 Kills
Lucy Bartee, 30 Assists
Erika Bute, 21 Digs
UP NEXT:
Winona State (10-1, 3-0 NSIC) travels to No. 1-ranked Concordia University, St. Paul on Saturday, Sep. 23. The Warriors and Golden Bears are set to start at 2 p.m. in the Ganglehoff Center at CSP.
