Dillon Hogan/ Winonan
Going into the weekend, the Winona State University volleyball team faced matches against the University of Minnesota Duluth on Friday and St. Cloud State University on Saturday, both at home. The Warriors were swept for the second straight game of the season only to turn around the next day with a sweep of their own.
Earlier in the season head coach Joe Getzin said, “Duluth is a good team and is going to be a front-runner in the conference.”
The Warriors found this to be true as Duluth, ranked No. 2 in the country, came away with the victory in straight sets.
The Warriors hit -.029 in the first match that resulted in a 25-16 loss.
In the second match of the night, the Warriors had the same results as the first match: a 25-16 loss. Minnesota Duluth posted a hitting percentage of .458.
Down by two games, the last match went back and forth between the two teams before Minnesota Duluth took the set and the match with a 30-28 win.
The Warriors posted a hitting percentage of .114. Taylor Goar was the Warrior offenseive leader with nine kills, while McKenna Larsen had 20 assists. Defensively, Jamie Cairncross posted 11 digs.
The following day Winona State swept St. Cloud State 3-0 in the second match up of the weekend.
The Warriors kept the Huskies at bay throughout the first set with a 25-19 victory. The second set resulted in a win for Winona State 25-22, despite being outhit by St. Cloud State.
In the third and final set, a late game tie at 20 apiece ended with the Warriors rattling off four straight points from Rachel Polland serving before ending the game at 25-21.
Danielle Rampart posted 17 kills and 11 digs. Polland put up a .385 hitting percentage to go with her five kills.
Despite two rough matches in the last few weeks Rampart feels the team is in great position as the season moves forward.
“Since the beginning of the season, we have become very close on and off the court. It is just like having a second family,” Rampart said. “The team chemistry helps a lot on the court, because we know that we always have each other’s backs. The team is definitely ready for the upcoming schedule.”
The Warriors are now 11-3 overall and 6-2 in the NSIC.
A road trip is next for the squad with matches against the University of Minnesota Crookston on Friday, Oct. 10 and Bemidji State University on Saturday, Oct, 11.
