Sam Thiel/Winonan

Bekah Saugen led the way for the Warriors Tuesday Oct. 16 in Fayette, Iowa, netting her team-leading 11th double-double of the year.

However, the Winona State University volleyball team couldn’t hold off the furious rally from the Upper Iowa University Peacocks, losing their match 3-2.

Saugen led WSU with 20 kills and also had 20 digs, marking her first 20-20 match of the year.

After losing the first set 25-20, the Warriors took an early 2-1 lead by winning the second and third set 25-19 and 25-18 respectively.

The Peacocks would then rally, posting a 25-6 victory in the final fifth set to put the match away.

Kate Horihan recorded 14 kills for WSU while Laura Zeamer had ten.

A group of Warrior setters ended their matches with double-digit assists, with Elena Kruesel leading the way with 25.

Kayla Uhlenhake dished out 18 assists for WSU while Kaley Jacobson added 12.

Defensively, Maggie Finkel paved the way for the Warriors with 26 digs while Katie Froehle had 15.

The Warrior defense recorded six total blocks during the match, with Paige Garriga and Zeamer each having four block assists.

The Winona State volleyball team was able to use wins in the second and fourth set to gain a 3-1 victory over St. Cloud State University Friday in St. Cloud.

After winning the first set 25-22 the Warriors added on to their lead with a 25-18 victory in the second set.

The squad opened the second set with a 10-3 lead en route to the decisive victory.

After losing the third set, 25-16, WSU put the match away with a 25-17 victory in the fourth set.

Elena Kruesel led the way for the Warriors on the offensive end, dishing out a team-high 27 assists.

Kate Horihan led the offensive onslaught for WSU with 14 kills and hit .321 while Laura Zeamer added ten kills while hitting .364.

Katie Froehle and Rachel Polland each had 18 digs for the Warriors while Maggie Finkel added 14.

Kaley Jacobson also recorded 16 assists in the winning effort.

Winona State’s defense was strong right from the beginning, holding St. Cloud State to hit only .091 on the match.

The Huskies hit under .100 in three of the four sets played.

The Winona State volleyball team had a rough outing against a dominating Minnesota Duluth defense, falling to the sixth-ranked Bulldogs 3-0 Saturday in Duluth.

UMD’s defense worked the Warriors all night, with the Bulldogs winning the sets 25-17, 25-13 and 25-11 in a sweep.

“I think the biggest thing is going to be coming in with confidence. We need to be aggressive and have no fear at the net,” senior Maggie Finkel said. “I think with a tough week of practice we will get right back on track and ready to roll. I know everyone is ready to get back to the gym and get ready for the weekend. Moreover, I think that in order to run plays and be able to run more plays we need to pass first.”

Kathleen Omelina led WSU with seven kills and hit .357 while Katie Froehle cashed in seven kills of her own.

Kayla Uhlenhake led the squad with ten assists while Rachel Polland and Maggie Finkel each had nine digs.

Minnesota Duluth hit .430 throughout the match with Ashley Hinsch dishing out a game-high 37 assists.

“All teams/coaches want is to be consistently playing their best down the stretch run and into post-season. This past week we played well in parts of our first two matches but had major hiccups in both of them as well. That hiccup cost us in the UIU match but we were able to overcome the hiccup to SCSU. Against UMD we were just off and never got any kind of offensive rhythm going. Two things that are always key to good offensive performance but that become more magnified down the stretch and especially against top quality opponents are, one: the ability to pass serve receive well to allow our offense to be in system and, two: to avoid the block. Being in system means that we have multiple attacking options and plays available for our setters to execute,” said coach Dave Simon. “This keeps the opposing block and defense off guard and allows us to sideout at an acceptable percentage. While we are being aggressive in our attack we must combine being smart with it as well. These will be key aspects to our offensive production.”

WSU is now 18-6 overall on the season and 10-4 in conference play.

Winona State will return to McCown Gymnasium for matches against Southwest Minnesota State University and the University of Sioux Falls on Oct. 26th and 27th.

Five of the Warriors’ final six games are at home.

Contact Sam at [email protected]