Winona State University got a clean sweep against Augustana University on Saturday evening. This match took place at McCown Gymnasium on Oct. 4 at 5:00 p.m.
Winona State head coach, Kristine Pelky, mentioned that they wanted to honor and recognize Ron Strege in this match. Ron was the director of the Warrior Success Center and recently retired due to his battle with cancer.
The first set of the match started with Augustana scoring a killer smash. The Warriors returned the favor the same way and equalized the score.
The match continued, where both teams scored points back and forth. The Vikings maintained the lead until they scored 15 points.
The match turned the tide for the Warriors after that. Four points came from Kenna Kornely for the Warriors. Two of them were made via service ace, and the other two from an attack error for the opponent.
Ashlyn Steding of the Warriors took the lead even further by scoring two service aces of her own. Later, the set ended with the Warriors leading 25 points to 19.
The flow of the first set remained with the Warriors in the second set. They quickly scored eight points with Augustana scoring two points.
The momentum was lost by the Warriors after scoring 15 points. Augustana made their comeback and overtook the Warriors with a score of 23-22.
The set finally ended at 29-27. It was won by the Warriors. Before going on break, the team score became 2-0 in favor of the Warriors.
After returning from break, the Vikings scored two points in the third set. Their body language shows that they are going to make a big comeback.
The Warriors started slowly but made a good recovery. They reversed the lead after eight points were scored.
Augustana tried to get back into the game and equalize the scoreboard with 21 points. Three service errors helped them get there in this process.
The set ended with 25-23 points. After winning this set, Winona State won the match 3-0.
“They brought a lot of fans, so the energy in the gym was amazing. It’s always great to sweep a team.” Said Jaci Winchell of the Warriors.
If we look at individual performances, Anna Hennessy has 14 defensive saves in the match, and she is consistent for the Warriors in every match. Anna mentioned that her teammates always put her in the best position.
The Warriors are sixth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) standings after this match. They are going to face the University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State University next week.
The match against Sioux Falls will start at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. The one with Southwest Minnesota will start at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. Both these matches will be away matches for the Warriors.
