Dillon Hogan/Winonan

After a pair of conference losses last week, the Winona State University volleyball team faced another bevy of conference foes, beginning with Upper Iowa Sept. 24.

Despite a 2-0 lead, the Warriors found themselves on the losing end after a ferocious comeback by Upper Iowa. Winning the first two games in quick succession by scores of 25-17 and 25-15, the Warriors could not shut out Upper Iowa, who fought back to win the next three games and the match by scores of 25-16, 26-24 and 15-13.

Senior Alli Glisch recorded 16 kills in only 28 attempts all while hitting .429 for the match. Glisch’s .429 was well above the team average for the match, which was .219. Also posting double-digit kills for the match were seniors Katie Froehle and Bekah Saugen, who recorded 13 kills apiece for the Warriors.

With 32 assists, senior Kaley Jacobson notched her spot as the team leader for the Warriors, followed by another senior Kayla Uhlenhake with 18. On the defensive side of the ball, junior Kathleen Omelina posted 10 total blocks to steady the defense.

Following five straight losses, the Warriors got back on track with an important win against Bemidji State on Sept. 27 in Winona.
A quick 3-0 match win for the Warriors was achieved with scores of 25-14, 25-21 and 25-23 to take the victory. Bemidji didn’t trouble the Warriors until the second game when they found themselves trailing 15-10, only to score seven of the next eight points and then finish off the game 25-21.

An offensive outpouring by the Warriors was key to the win with Froehle and Saugen each recording double-doubles with 15 kills and 10 digs for Froehle and 10 kills with 14 digs for Saugen. Junior Rachel Polland was one shy of a double-digit kill total and also recorded a .438 hitting percentage.

Leading the Warriors with 21 digs was sophomore Leah Perri. Assisting the Warriors was Uhlenhake with 23 and Jacobson behind her with 13.

The last game of the week saw the Warriors notching another victory, this time against Minnesota Crookston. The Warriors used all aspects of their game to beat Crookston 3-0 Sept. 28 in Winona.

A 25-16 first set victory was paced by Omelina’s four kills and the Warriors as a team hitting .323. In the second match, the Warriors found themselves behind 16-12 only to rally for the 25-22 victory.

The third match was again close early on, but the Warriors used a late surge to secure the victory in the game and match by a score of 25-20.

Omelina was the Warriors’ leader in kills with 11 with Glisch and Froehle each putting forth 7 kills as well. Jacobson again led the Warriors in assists with 19, and Uhlenhake contributed with 15. Perri held the defense with 16 digs in the match and Saugen was right behind her with 13.

“The team has been improving each week by the way we work in practice,” Glisch said. “We are pushing each other more and more, as well as playing as a team and not as individuals. We are successful when we serve and pass well as a team, as well as put up solid blocks. If we continue to focus on these fundamentals, we will keep moving in a positive direction.”

The Warriors, now 5-9 overall, are in action again next week starting a four-game road trip beginning Friday, Oct. 4, in St. Cloud.

Contact Dillon at [email protected]