Dillon Hogan/Winonan

The Winona State University volleyball team finished up the weekend with matches against No. 3 ranked University of Minnesota, Duluth and St. Cloud State.

A trio of close games against Duluth wasn’t enough for the Warriors as they fell in three straight games Friday, Nov. 8.

Game one against Duluth looked like a Warrior win, with as much as a five point lead by the Warriors. Duluth fought back to tie the score at 20 apiece and eventually won the game 25-21.

In the second set, a slow start doomed the Warriors as they found themselves behind 5-0 and could not cover the deficit.

The Warriors wound up losing the second game 25-16 and also suffered a loss in the third game by a score of 25-21.

The Warriors held Minnesota Duluth to a .214 hitting average, below their season average of .311. Senior Bekah Saugen recorded her 1,000th career kill and now resides at 11th place on Winona State’s all-time kill list.

Aside from Saugen, Katie Froehle led the Warriors with nine kills and also hit a team-high .381. Elena Kruesel led the Warriors with 15 assists, while Kaley Jacobson had eight of her own. On the defensive side, three Warriors ended the game with double-digit digs. Froehle led the team with 12 while Leah Perri ended with 11 and Saugen rounded things out with 10 digs.

Despite standout performances from both Saugen and Froehle, the Warriors fell to St. Cloud Saturday in Winona. A .000 hitting percentage in the opening game severely hindered the Warriors’ chances.

The Warriors were able to pull within one at 23-22 before ultimately losing 25-22. Another poor hitting performance in the second set cost the Warriors that set as well. Hitting .028 for the game the Warriors fell behind early and were never able to fight all the way back until a 25-17 loss.

The third set had the Warriors bouncing back from two below-average sets, hitting .429 and recording 17 kills to only two errors.

The dominating performance was capped off by a 25-13 win for the Warriors. Unable to keep the same results in the fourth and final match, the Warriors found themselves on the losing side 25-20, giving St. Cloud the match victory.

Saugen was the team leader with 15 kills and added 11 digs for her 16th double-double this season, and fellow senior Froehle followed suit with 17 digs and 10 kills for her 13th double-double.

On the defensive side, the Warriors were led by Froehle and Saugen with their 17 and 11 digs respectively and Jamie Cairncross, who joined the two with ten digs of her own.

The Warriors, now 10-17 overall and 7-11 in the NSIC, conclude their regular season next weekend with two road games against Minnesota Crookston Friday, Nov. 15, and Bemidji State Saturday, Nov. 16.

Contact Dillon at [email protected]