The Winona State University Women’s volleyball team won against Minot State University on homecoming. Outside hitter from Winona State, Abby Ongna, made a career-high 20 kills (smashing the ball on the ground), which played a big role in the match.
The Warriors won the match 3-0. The match took place in front of 451 people on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, at 6:00 p.m.
“It was a really good confidence builder for our team. We came off a hard stretch of games in the conference, and I think we’re just finding our groove again,” Ongna said.
Both teams got off to a good start in their first set. They were scoring kills back and forth. When the Warriors faced a 4-6 deficit, they started to make a comeback. They scored 6 points in a row.
The score was 10-6, with the Warriors leading. Both teams each put a continuation of runs, which set a rhythm for a tough fight.
This toughness from Minot State was temporary. The Warriors made the set one-sided later. The set ended with the Warriors taking the first set with a tally of 25-12. This domination set the tone for the Warriors for the match.
In the second set, the Warriors’ winning momentum continued. They always scored 2 or more points in response to one point from Minot State.
There were 8 attack errors from Minot State in this set. On the other hand, they made 8 kills as well. The set ended with 25-14 points. Winona State won this set as well.
After the break, in the third set, Minot State made a huge comeback. They scored 5 points, while Winona State was sitting at 0.
Winona State scored their first point due to a service error from Jaina Macaulay of Minot State. Minot State kept on scoring points and increasing their lead.
The Warriors started making their comeback when the score was 10-3. Within the next 5 minutes, the score was tied 11-11.
Minot State kept the pressure; scoring kills regularly. The Warriors turned the game around with the service of Ashlyn Steding. They got 6 points from her service.
The set ended 25-22 for another Warriors victory. Winona State won the set and finished the game 3-0. The Warriors had 14 kills in this set. Abby had 6 kills by herself.
The Warrior head coach, Kristine Pelky, said, “I’m just proud of the girls. We were able to hit really well today and get a lot of kills. So I’m really proud of how they played.”
Next week, the Warriors are facing the University of Jamestown on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, at 6:00 pm. They are also facing Northern State University on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at 2:00 pm. Both matches will be away matches for them.
The Warrior’s Libero, Anna Hennessy, mentioned that long bus rides play a big factor in the game. So, it will be interesting to see how they react to these away games.
