Winona State was on the road this weekend for volleyball as they went against Wayne State College on Friday, Oct. 28 and Augustana University Saturday, Oct. 29.  

On the first day of matches, Winona’s Warriors played against the Wildcats who are ranked #3 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. The Wildcats were able to pull the first three sets away from the Warriors.  

The first set was the closest of the three frames, with Wayne State’s takeover of Winona State, 25-19. The Wildcats were about to pull through on the next two sets and wrapped up the contest leaving it 25-16 and 25-12.  

Wayne State’s hitters were led by both Kelsie Cada with 16 kills and her teammate Taya Beller with 15 kills herself.  

Winona State gathered up 37 kills in total from the match. Madison Larson got 11 kills in, and Taylor Pagel hit 10 over.  

“Our team feeds off energy so being able to contribute that positive energy after a point always makes me excited,” Larson said.  

On defense, Casey Volkman had 12 digs. While Mikenna Joerger and Sidney Paulson each had a pair of blocks themselves.  

“Every single game will be tough, and we know that it will be competitive every time we step out onto the court,” Sidney Paulson said.  

With the unfortunate loss of that game, Winona Warriors continued the next day playing against Augustana University looking to gain a win but fell out of luck as they took on a five-set game, ending it 2-3.  

The Warriors were in their element as the first set started, connecting 16 kills on 25 attempts and earned a 25-17 victory to take a 1-0 lead in the match. However, Augustana’s Vikings responded back in the second set, taking the frame 25-19 to create a tying match 1-1 at halftime.  

With a climatic comeback for the third set, each team attempted 40 swings on the attack. Though Winona State University was able to keep their head high, getting 25 kills with only four errors. While Augustana University got in with 11 kills and committing eight errors as the Warrior’s defense was kept strong winning the third set 25-20.  

The fourth match was crucial, Winona State could have taken it home soon, but Augustana jumped back into the game, getting an early lead of 11-3 before the Warriors were able to bring up their score to a tie. The Vikings regained the lead and soon ended the set leaving the score 28-30. 

In the final match, both teams came out strong, but the Vikings took the lead going into the set having it 15-9 and the outcome of the match 3-2.  

Career day was led by Jaci Winchell as she took the offensive attacks, delivering a career-high of 55 assists. Her teammates Sidney Paulson, Lydia Lange and Madison Larson were all able to get double-digit kills. Recorded of 19, 18 and 13.  

Winona State (12-13, 8-10) will close the regular season with another two-day match this time being at home. We then will host University of Sioux Falls on Friday, Nov. 4 and Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday, Nov. 5.