The Winona State women’s volleyball has gotten out of their losing streak after winning two matches over the weekend against University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University.

The Warriors returned to their home court on Friday to beat Crookston in a straight set victory (3-0).

With the playoffs approaching, Winona State needed the win improving them to 10-13 (7-8 in the NSIC conference).

The Warriors came out strong with a first set win of 25-13 and followed it with set wins of 25-19 and 25-19 to complete the sweep.

There was an evident team effort in this win as the Warriors attempted to switch up their lineup from previous matches. 10 different team members recorded at least one kill while a total of 10 also recorded at least one dig.

“Our team played well this weekend,” sophomore Bre Maloney said. “I feel like we have been making strides in practice and it showed in these games. We have been working on the little things so it was great to see it come together this weekend.”

Senior Taylor Goar had a stand out game with a match-high 14 kills. Goar was active in the entire match, but picked up steam in the third set with six kills in that one alone.

The Warriors recorded a hitting percentage of 23.8, while the Eagles were held to 11.5.

Coming off of the win from Friday, the Warriors swept Bemidji State as well (3-0) producing their first back-to-back sweeps of the season.

This win brought Winona State back to the .500 record with 8-8 in the conference action and improving to 11-13 overall with four matches to go in their regular season.

The Warriors beat the Beavers with set scores of 25-22, 25-20, and 25-12.

Goar and senior Maria Wrage combined for 19 kills in the match while first-year Cori Meyers recorded eight.

Maloney recorded 35 assists as the offense had a 26.7 hitting percentage in the victory.

“I think that I was able to be successful this weekend because of the great passing we had and aggressive mindset by our hitters,” Maloney said. “The passers really pushed passes this weekend which allowed me to be a threat in the front row, causing the blockers to question where the ball was going to go.”

Although the Warriors trailed in the first two sets, they were able to come back and get the wins in each set.

Goar was instrumental in the match getting the two final kills in set one, as well as the final kill in set two. She also led the way with three aces, putting her in 12th place all-time at Winona with a record of 110 career aces.

Meyers had a team-best 15 digs followed by Becca Pagel with 13, and Goar with 11 getting her ninth double-double of the season.

“It’s always a good weekend when we walk away with two wins.” Maloney said. “So far this season has been a great opportunity to learn about hard work. I think our team is currently playing well and we will fight to push as far as we can go for the remainder of the season.”

The Warriors will head off on their final road trip of the regular season next weekend with away games at Wayne State and Augustana University. Winona State has already won against both teams this season and will need a repeat performance to help in their push in the playoffs.