Sam Thiel/Winonan

The Winona State University volleyball team finished off a season sweep with Augustana College, defeating the Vikings 3-1 Friday in Winona. A trio of Warriors had double-doubles for WSU.

Bekah Saugen paved the way for Winona State University with 14 kills and 19 digs, a team-high in both categories.

Katie Froehle chipped in 12 kills and 11 digs as the Warriors won their 20th match of the season. With the victory, the squad made it the first time a Warrior team won 20 matches in a single season since 1993.

Elena Kruesel was the last Warrior to record a double-double in the match, dishing out 21 assists and netting ten digs.

Winona State lost the first set 25-16 but bounced back quickly, taking the next three sets in a decisive fashion. Winona State won the second set 25-19, took the third set 25-17 and finished off the comeback with a 25-19 victory in the fourth set.

The defense was once again strong at the net, holding Augustana to a hitting percentage of .071 in the match. The Vikings only hit .026 in the very first set and were contained to a .029 hitting percentage in the third set. The Warriors recorded nine blocks total, with Laura Zeamer leading the block party with five.

Kayla Uhlenhake put in 17 assists in the victory while also netting nine digs. Maggie Finkel was next with 16 digs.

The Warriors faced No. 16 Wayne State Saturday in Winona, but fell to the Wildcats 3-1. Bekah Saugen, Katie Froehle, and Elena Kruesel each netted double-doubles for the second night in a row.

Saugen recorded a team-high of 18 kills, and added 18 digs as well. Froehle netted 13 kills and 24 digs in the match. Five Warriors had double-doubles throughout the match, matching up against one of the conference’s top squads.

Winona State won the opening set 25-19 but Wayne State would come back to earn wins in the next three sets.

The Wildcats would take the second set 26-24, the third set 25-22 and the fourth set 25-23 to post its 22nd victory on the season.

On the defensive end, the Warriors were phenomenal yet again, holding Wayne State to a hitting percentage of .175 on the afternoon. Winona State recorded seven blocks total, with Laura Zeamer leading the way with four block assists.

Kate Horihan netted 15 kills and hit .357 during the match. Kayla Uhlenhake dished out a team-high 30 assists to go along with her ten digs.

Finkel had 25 digs, while passing out ten assists, and Kruesel was the fifth Warrior to post a double-double, handing out 17 assists and recording 12 digs.

“Offensively we need to pass in-system to allow our offense to have options,” said Coach Dave Simon. “We then have to execute offensively to sideout at 60% or better. Defensively we have been pretty good so we just need to keep up our blocking, which has been strong, and then we need to make the big digs against the big hits.”

“Numbers-wise, usually if you can hit .050 or higher than your opponent, you give yourself a good chance to win. This past weekend was a good example of that; Friday we were .070 better and won in four and even though we had a better percentage Saturday, it wasn’t a great enough difference (only .015) and we lost a close match.”

Winona State ends its regular season 20-10 overall and 12-8 in NSIC play. The Warriors head into the NSIC tournament as the sixth seed and play the third seeded University of Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 16th at Concordia-St. Paul.

Contact Sam at [email protected]