Dillon Hogan/ Winonan
The Winona State University women’s volleyball team began its conference season this past week facing three conference foes and coming out with three wins to bump their record to 8-1 for the season.
Before the match, head coach Joe Getzin said, “It’s exciting to be in the best conference in the nation. We have to bring it every night because all the teams will be doing the same. Every team is capable of beating you and doing well will show if you are one of the best teams in the country.”
The Warriors were victorious, 3-1, in their first matchup of the week against Upper Iowa University.
Winona State played their first match at home and dropped the first game 25-23.
The Warriors came back to win the next three matches 25-22, 25-10 and 25-13.
Youth was not a factor in the Warrior win with freshman Danielle Rampart recording 22 kills and 11 digs in the match. Fellow freshman McKenna Larsen doled out 41 assists and 17 digs on the defensive side.
“I’ve never started this many underclassmen, but they are skilled players. I’m going to put a team out on the court that puts us in the best position to win,” Getzin said. “On the other side the upperclassmen are accepting their roles, which is only making us better. This has taken effort from the entire team to make it work.”
With a few days off between games, the Warriors had time to rest for weekend games on Friday and Saturday.
The Warriors were back at it on Friday night against Minot State, resulting in another victory.
The back and forth match took five sets to complete, and the Warriors won by scores of 25-19, 25-22 and 16-14.
A rally in the fifth and final frame captured the win for the Warriors.
Down 14-8, Larsen got a kill and then proceeded to have seven straight points from the line to cap the comeback.
Not to be outdone by Larsen, Taylor Goar managed 23 kills and 26 digs to top the team in both categories.
The win against Minot moved the Warriors to 7-1 on the season and an undefeated 2-0 record in the NSIC.
Following the match on Friday, the Warriors faced University of Mary and swept the match 3-0 to cap off an unbeaten week for the Warriors.
The Warriors posted a 25-13 win in the first frame. Winning scores of 25-14 and 25-20 followed and gave the Warriors their third win of the week.
Sophomore Jamie Cairncross notched 10 digs for the Warriors, while Larsen and Rampart had 16 assists and 11 digs, respectively.
The Warriors are still looking to improve according to coach Getzin.
“We aren’t serving as well as I know we can,” Getzin said. “We also need to work on staying in our system and involving hitters on all sides of the court. We need to take care of our side and take nothing for granted.”
Winona State is now 8-1 overall and holds a 3-0 record in the NSIC.
The next week is just as game-filled as the last with the Warriors facing Minnesota State at home on Sept. 23.
Winona State will then travel away for matches against Moorhead on Sept. 26 and Northern State on Sept. 27.
