The Winona State University Volleyball team returned home for the second time this year for a fantastic set of conference games against Minnesota State University Moorhead on Friday and Northern State University on Saturday. 

The Warriors head into the weekend baring a 6-7 overall record and a 2-4 NSIC slate after a smashing pair of road victories last weekend at Minot State University and University of Mary.  

Moorhead entered the weekend at 5-9 overall and a 2-4 in the NSIC. The Warriors had quite an advantage, as the Dragons have lost ten consecutive matches to Winona State and have not beaten them in McCown since Sept. 7, 2013. 

Friday night’s game went smoothly for The Warriors, as they refused to fall behind and tied the scoreboard only four times throughout all three sets. Set one ended at 25-19, led by Sidney Paulson with an impressive 9 kills and Jaci Winchell’s 16 assists. The other two sets followed with similar results. 

Paulson, a right side from Jackson, Wis. finished up her 2021 season with 310 kills and a 2.65 kill/set ratio. Defensively, she had 222 digs with a 1.90 dig/set ratio. From Moorhead alone, Paulson gained an astounding 17 kills and 17 digs to match.   

“I definitely think that I’ve stepped up this year as a vocal leader,” Paulson said about being a positive role model and how she provides encouragement for the team. “I think just showing with my skills and just building my teammates up no matter what happens on the court.” 

The team collected a total of 50 kills and 74 digs against Moorhead, both of which are season highs for three-set matches so far.  

Northern State came into the NSIC weekend at 8-6 overall and 3-3 in the NSIC. 

Saturday was another sweep for Winona State, but the tension was high with the first set being an easy win, but the final two turning out to be extremely tight. The third and final set had fans on their toes after NSU crept behind to tie at 24-24. 

Nonetheless, the Warriors earned their win after a kill by Lydia Lange, and a combined block by Winchell and Taylor Pagel to seal the victory at 26-24. 

However, the exciting win was not the only cause for celebration this weekend. 

Joe Getzin, Winona States head volleyball coach, hit the 350-career win milestone after the Warriors win Friday night.  

After leading Winona State to one of the best seasons in Warrior volleyball history in 2021 and several successful years before, this milestone fits right under his belt.  

“The team this season has been a great team,” Getzin said about some of the key highlights that led up to his 350th career win. “They’ve had to overcome a couple of obstacles and they’ve kept fighting every day. This was a great way to hit 350.” 

Getzin and the team are fighting to get into the top eight to make their conference tournament. With the trend of wins that they have achieved the past several matches; he has faith in his team and their ability to overcome the things that were not going so well in the beginning of the season. 

The Warriors volleyball team hopes to keep their winning streak moving into their next NSIC game on Tuesday, Oct. 4 against Upper Iowa University in McCown Gymnasium.