Dillon Hogan/Winonan
After the conclusion of the 2012 season, the Winona State University women’s volleyball squad is looking to improve on their twenty wins.
The Warriors are going to use the school record fifteen-straight wins last season as a starting point for bigger and better goals this season.
The Warriors, who began practicing last week, bring back an experienced squad led by seniors Bekah Saugen, Katie Froehle, Kayla Uhlenhake, Elena Kruesel, Kaley Jacobson and Alli Glisch.
The league’s coaches picked the Warriors to finish sixth in the NSIC Preseason Volleyball Poll. The Warriors tied with Minnesota State, with Concordia-St. Paul nabbing the top spot.
To prepare for the upcoming season, the Warriors had a scrimmage on Tuesday, Aug. 26 to work out any kinks for upcoming games.
The Warriors used the offseason to ready themselves for this season. Strength coach Loren Liming created workouts for the girls that included Olympic style lifts, circuit training and cardio, Froehle said.
“Every year we scrimmage Viterbo and it’s usually our first time playing another team,” Froehle said. “It’s a good chance for everyone to play, switch up line-ups and try different looks. I think we saw some really great things at Viterbo. Our team always wants to have a, ‘GFE- Go For Everything’ spirit and I think that was evident on Tuesday, we showed lots of hustle which was exciting to see.”
“The NSIC is a very tough conference. You can battle with a team and exchange point for point. One team giving up two or three points in a row can mean they lose the match. So, our main focus at practice has been to stop runs. If the other side gets a point on you, you have to make a conscious effort to get the next point and not give up a run. A lot of our drills are faster then the real pace of volleyball which means there isn’t much time to think, so you really have to focus on the point at hand,” Froehle said.
The Warriors begin their regular season with a six-team tournament beginning Sept. 6 with two home games against St. Joseph’s and Northwest Missouri State at 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
The Warriors play two more games on Sept. 7 against Michigan Tech and MSU Moorhead at home with those games at 3:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. respectively.
Contact Dillon at [email protected]
