Volleyball dominates with overall record 21-3
The Winona State Warriors bounced back last Thursday, Oct. 28 to defeat the Upper Iowa Peacocks. The Warriors won 3-1 at Dorman Memorial Gym located in Fayette, Iowa. The Warriors then traveled back home to McCown Gymnasium to face off against Concordia-St. Paul. The game ended 3-1 with the Warriors victorious. The Warriors will play again at home Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. against Minnesota State University – Mankato.
November 3, 2021
The Winona State Warriors bounced back last Thursday, Oct. 28 to defeat the Upper Iowa Peacocks. The Warriors won 3-1 at Dorman Memorial Gym located in Fayette, Iowa.
The game ended with the Warriors holding a hitting percentage of .208 versus Upper Iowa’s hitting percentage of .119. The Warriors also ended the game with 55 kills compared to the Peacocks’ 43.
The Warriors weren’t selfish with the ball either, racking up 51 assists compared to the Peacocks’ 41. The Warriors ended the game with 71 digs, four more than the 69 total digs Upper Iowa ended with.
On the defensive side, the Warriors put up a solid defense and ended the game with a total of 12 blocks versus Upper Iowa’s six.
The first set wasn’t as the Warriors would have hoped. Upper Iowa came out to a commanding lead as they went on a four-point run. When the Peacock’s momentum stabilized, they continued another four-point run. This continued once more until the Warriors made a late rally attempt to close the gap. Upper Iowa would take the beginning set 25-22.
The Warriors’ first set play foreshadowed the beginning of the second set, with a late rally from Winona State players. Upper Iowa appeared to battle the Warriors toe-to-toe to open the second set. After some back and forth, the score reached 11-12, Peacocks. The score shifted towards the Warriors, soon going on a four-point run. Nearing the end, a brief tie occurred at 20-20, but the Warriors achieved 16 kills throughout the duration of the set. This is higher than Upper Iowa’s kill total in any one set during the game. The Warriors turned the tide during this set and finished victorious, 25-21.
With this win, the Warriors improved their performance. The Warriors had a convincing 4-2 lead during the third set. Going on three separate three-point runs and one four-point run, Winona State won, 25-19.
The final set was dominated by Winona State, maintained by at least a four-point lead throughout the duration of the set. Although the Warriors started the match with a loss, they took control of the game and ended the final set, 25- 17, and won overall.
Fourth-year Casey Volkmann commented on the team’s mindset going into the game.
“Going into the Upper Iowa game, we know we were going to have to be aggressive serving and be ready for a lot of balls to come back over the net, as they are a scrappy team that does a good job of keeping the ball in play,” Volkmann said.
When asked about how their mindset going into the game influenced the game’s outcome, Volkmann commented, “Our win wasn’t perfect, but we did a great job of executing our game plan and stayed persistent and aggressive through long rallies.”
Fourth-year Cori Meyers commented on the matchup.
“Our adjustments prepared us for this match,” Meyers said. “We shut down their leading hitters which pushed them out of their comfort zones.”
As for looking ahead to the next games, Volkmann plans to maintain a levelheaded mindset.
“We just need to focus on our side of the net and play the way we know we are capable of,” Volkmann said.
Along with Volkmann, Meyers also plans to keep a similar mindset.
“This coming week we are playing teams we have all seen before,” Meyers said. “Looking at how they were successful against us last time and taking away those opportunities, we can set ourselves up for success.”
The Winona State Warriors traveled back home to McCrown Gymnasium to face off against Concordia-St. Paul. The game ended 3-1 with the Warriors victorious.
The game ended with the Warriors achieving a hitting percentage of .243 compared to .217.
The Warriors will play again at home Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. against Minnesota State University – Mankato.
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