BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference released the 2025 Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll and Winona State is voted to finish seventh in the league. Abby Ongna was selected as WSU's player to watch. 

The Warriors picked up 132 points in the poll while St. Cloud State was selected to finish first with 212 points.

The Warriors will be under the direction of first-year head coach, Kristine Pelky, who will bring lots of experience to the Warriors. Pelky, a head coach at Capital Volleyball academy and Sanford Sports Academy prior to her time at Winona State has been on the Warriors staff since 2019. Pelky has helped lead WSU to three NSIC tournament appearances and a program best 28-5 record in 2021. 

Ongna, a sophomore from Marshfield, Wis., appeared in 14 matches during the 2024 season as a true freshman. Coach Pelky on Ongna: "Abby is an extremely hard worker, a great teammate, and an inspiring leader. She's put in a ton of work over the past year and I'm excited to see that show through on the floor this season."

Looking ahead to the 2025 season, Coach Pelky noted, "This group worked extremely hard this off-season to carve their own path after graduating many veteran players. I'm excited to work with this team as they continue to push themselves to their highest potential." 

Winona State will open the 2025 season in tournament fashion against Northwood University on Friday, September 5th in Detroit, Mich.

The NSIC regular season champion will be determined by the 20-match conference schedule. The 2025 NSIC Volleyball Tournament shall be an eight-team tournament with the quarterfinals hosted at the top four seeds on Tuesday, November 18 and the semifinals/championship matches hosted at the highest remaining seed. The semifinals/championship matches will take place on two consecutive days between Friday and Sunday, November 21-23 with the dates of competition determined by the host institution.