John DiSalle / Winonan

A pair of match wins moved the No. 9 Winona State University volleyball team to 14-2 overall and 5-2 in the NSIC over the weekend. According to junior Taylor Goar, home matches provide extra support from friends, family and fellow athletes.

“Being at home is an indescribable feeling,” Goar said. “Our support system with the other teams across campus is like no other school I know of. Every sport comes, watches, and is involved. We are all very close and push each other to be better.”

The first victory of the weekend was over conference opponent Bemidji State University in a three-set triumph (25-17, 25-17, 25-18). Winona hit a .328 attack percentage compared to Bemidji State’s .162 attack percentage.

In the first set, the Warriors combined for a game-high .444 attack percentage to start off strong against the Beavers. Junior Taylor Goar led Winona State with seven kills. Goar also hit a .667 attack percentage. Junior McKenna Larsen totaled 18 assists, and junior Lauren Kudronowicz recorded six kills and a .625 attack percentage. Winona State used their momentum to win the first set 25-17.

The Warriors’ energy carried over to the second set, as things started off with a kill by sophomore Maria Wrage assisted by Larsen. The Warriors won the set, 25-17. Larsen continued to assist her teammates kills as she led the way in that category with 13 in the second set. The Warriors achieved a .311 attack percentage and 17 total team kills.

Winona State continued to control the match and defeated the Beavers with a third and final set victory 25-18. The Warriors’ defense held the Beavers to a .103 attack percentage. Winona State hit a match low .244 attack percentage and a match-low 16 kills, but it was enough to claim the victory.

Winona State hit 54 kills in the match compared to Bemidji’s 27 kills. Junior Danielle Rampart led the way in kills with 14 followed by Kudronowicz and Goar with 13 each. Kudronowicz hit a team high .571 attack percentage followed by Rampart with a .433 percentage.

The Warriors carried their energy through to Saturday, where they faced the University of Minnesota Crookston. The home team came out on top once again, winning three sets against the Golden Eagles (25-15, 25-15, 25-12).

Defense played large role in the match, as the Warriors held the Golden Eagles to a .060 attack percentage. Winona State finished with a .474 attack percentage.

Winona State did not have an attacking error in the second set, and only committed six errors all match. The Golden Eagles committed 20 errors in match play.

During the first set, the Warriors jumped out to a demanding 7-3 run. The women would not look back as they would win the set 25-15. The Warriors hit a .310 attack percentage, the lowest of the match. Minnesota Crookston hit a .161 attack percentage, the highest of the match.

In the second and third sets, Winona State claimed wins against the Golden Eagles 25-15 and 25-12. Goar ended the match with a kill to send the Warriors to the locker room with the win.

Winona State had six players hit above a .421 attack percentage in the match. Junior Maria Fruechte led the way with a .667 attack percentage followed by Wrage who recorded a .545 attack percentage. Rampart and Goar tied for a match-high 11 kills. Junior setter Larsen recorded 34 assists in the match. Along with Larsen’s high assist numbers, she also had a .429 attack percentage.

After falling in the conference tournament championship last year, the Warriors are looking to earn a NCAA Tournament bid.

Head coach Joe Getzin said, “We talk about championships. We talk about being able to play the top teams in the nation because they are right here in our conference. With that, the girls are fired up to play teams that have such great success.”

One thing that is going to help the Warriors get back to the conference championship is the experience Winona State brings back this season.

“We know each other’s tendencies and what we can do to push each other. We have more than one leader and we all step up at different times,” Goar said. “We are very competitive and not scared to push each other.”

Even though the Warriors are looking to make a run towards an NCAA Tournament bid and a possible return to the conference championship, they are not getting too ahead of themselves.

Senior libero Jamie Cairncross said, “We are excited to keep going and play high-level teams. We have a very talented conference so we know that each and every weekend is going to be a fight.”

Winona State will be back on the road this weekend when they travel to Sioux Falls, S.D. to take on the University of Sioux Falls on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. They will play Southwest Minnesota State University on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 4 p.m.

-By John DiSalle