Dillon Hogan/Winonan

Now fully in the conference season, the Winona State University volleyball team began the first half of a four-game road trip this weekend. Starting with St. Cloud on Oct. 4 and continuing in Duluth Oct. 5 the Warriors looked to get back on track in the conference.

Against St. Cloud State, the Warriors were again on the losing side, falling 3-1. The first game of the match saw the Warriors starting off slow and being unable to recuperate enough to secure the win, losing 25-16.

The Warriors responded in the second game early on to take a 10-6 lead, but a late rally by St. Cloud gave them the win in the second game as well 25-23.

Again in the third game, the Warriors led 10-6 and this time despite another St. Cloud comeback attempt the Warriors held on to win 25-23.

The fourth and final game was another victory for St. Cloud by a margin of 25-21, giving them the match win.
Warrior senior Katie Froehle was the charge behind the Warrior offense with 15 kills and 15 digs.

Joining Froehle with a double-double was Bekah Saugen, whose 13 kills and 16 digs gave her the tenth double-double of her season.

Leading the Warriors in assists again, was senior Kayla Uhlenhake with 23 assists, while fellow seniors Kaley Jacobson and Elena Kruesel each had 13 assists as well. On defense, the Warriors used sophomore Leah Perri’s 17 digs to pace their performances.

Saturday, Oct. 5, the Warriors traveled to Duluth to take on the second-ranked Minnesota-Duluth volleyball team. A three game sweep by Duluth gave the Warriors their second loss of the week.

In the first game of the match, the Warriors were on the losing end by a final score of 25-15. The second match was a tough one for the Warriors with Duluth taking the game with a score of 25-13. The third and final game was a much closer contest and the Warriors fought even with Duluth until they ultimately lost the game and the match 25-21.

Offensively, Saugen led the Warriors with nine kills and senior Alli Glisch with five kills. Defensively, freshman Jamie Cairncross and Saugen each recorded double-digit kills with 13 and 12 respectively.

Prior to the St. Cloud game, Uhlenhake said, “I thought as a whole we played pretty well last weekend. Granted we could have played better, and we had some down moments, but beating both teams in three games said a lot about our team.”

Uhlenhake said the team is learning from their recent losses, and looking to turn things around.

“We had a couple games where we came from behind which shows a lot,” Uhlenhake said. “We have a rough start to the season with the first three losses, but I think as a whole we started to show what we were capable of, and play like we know we can.”

The Warriors, who are now 5-11 overall and 2-5 in the NSIC, conclude their road trip next week with matches against No. 7 ranked Southwest Minnesota in Marshall, Minn. on Friday, Oct. 11, and Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls, S.D. Saturday, Oct. 12.

Contact Dillon at [email protected]