Winona State University had their first match at home of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) against Augustana University (SD). In the match, they showed their confidence and dedication to the game. They won the match by 3-1 set on Thursday, Sept. 21.
In the first set, Winona State made their slow start. They gave up two points to the Vikings but never lost their confidence. Moreover, two senior players Sidney Paulson and Taylor Pagel were enjoying the start until their coach Joe Getzin shouted at them.
Getzin’s coaching made a quick impact as the Warriors scored a point just after. The match was on the side of Augustana University afterward as they maintained the lead.
Winona State showed a good combination of first-year and fourth-year players with Jayda Berga and Pagel. They both are more than six feet tall, so their blocks created a big wall for the opponent.
Berga showed her skills only a few days after joining the team. While other freshmen struggle with the study pressure, she is managing both her studies and her game.
“We practice in the morning at 6:30. That leaves me the whole night to do schoolwork,” Berga said. “We practice one to four, and I usually just use my nighttime to study. Like last week, I had two exams on Friday. After the game on Thursday, I just went home to study.”
Getzin acknowledges the calmness that Berga brings to the floor, even as a first year player, noting how well she has responded to the stress of the team.
Winona State made a sudden change in the game atmosphere while the score was 15-15. Suddenly they scored five points in a row, which made the base for their victory. Two senior players, Pagel and Paulson had two blocks and Reagan Jansen had a service ace within these five points.
The set ended with a 25-21 Warrior win. This win gave the Warriors extra confidence which helped them the next set big. The second set ended at 25-11 with another Warrior victory.
Both teams were making unfortunate service errors in the second set. Getzin mentioned while he saw the service errors, he understands the pressure and the mindset of the players. He is always fine with the errors until his team scores points and keeps their lead active.
The start of the third set was the same as the other two as Augustana took a 2-0 lead. Later on, Winona State hurled themselves back into the game with five points. It seemed like the set would finish like the last one. But the Vikings pulled out a win in this one with 25-20 points.
In this set, Winona State players were struggling to show their full energy whereas Augustana University players gave their all.
“We just didn’t have our normal energy that we usually do. And we kind of let up a little bit and that’s when we just made a few more errors than we normally do,” Pagel said. “So, then we were able to come back in the fourth and just really show who we are.”
In the fourth set, things changed dramatically. Winona State began to score each time the Vikings scored a point. The tension was high as Coach Getzin remained standing the entire set, while he was sitting throughout most of the last set.
In this set neither of the teams had a larger lead than two points till Winona State’s hit 20. The game was neck to neck while having two service errors by the Warriors and one by the Vikings.
When the score was 22-20 with Winona State in the lead, there was a decision conflict going on between the referees. Getzin used his green card and appealed for a review though it went in favor of the Vikings.
The point on the review was the last point the Vikings got that night. Back-to-back kills by Paulson and Berga took the Warriors to a 3-1 win overall.
Winona State also had a second match on Sept. 23 against Concordia University, St. Paul on Concordia University grounds. The match resulted in a disappointment for the Warriors as they unfortunately lost 0-3.
In this match, they lost 16-25, 14-25, and 15-25 respectively in the three sets. Winona State already had a losing history against the powerhouse that is Concordia University.
After the match against Concordia University, Winona State stands at sixth in the NSIC standings. They have three wins and one loss which is also what the other four teams including Concordia who stands in the third position of the league.
Next week Winona State will play against Northern State University on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. They are fifth on the standings now with the same number of wins. On Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, there will be what is hoped to be an easy match against Minnesota State University Moorhead.
