Taylor Goar and her Winona teammates suffered a setback earlier this week, but look to overcome the upset loss by winning a key conference encounter against Wayne State. (Upper Iowa Athletics)
There’s already been a pair of upsets this week.
Those might have been chalked up to ‘trap matches,’ but with hot conference action happening this weekend, there could be more on the way.
We take a look at five, Top-25 showdowns for the weekend:
Friday
No. 17 Nebraska-Kearney at No. 2 Washburn – Washburn is off to a 12-0 start, including winning the Mid-America opener earlier this week. Leanna Willer is currently leading the way with 4.14 kills per set, while Liz Powell is averaging 9.02 per sets. Setter Lindsey Smith is averaging 11.13 assists per set for Nebraska-Kearney, while Annie Wolfe is hitting .336 and is averaging 2.50 kills per set. Washburn in 3.
No. 12 Central Missouri at No. 19 Central Oklahoma – Both teams arrive at this one with only one loss to their records, making it a great start to the Mid-America schedule for them. Central Missouri, which is led by outside Carly Sojka’s 4.36 kills per set, shook off its only defeat to Tampa to win six straight. Central Oklahoma fell to Florida Southern, but have ran off five consecutive victories and are helped by pin hitters Barbara Jackson (3.69 kills per set) and Taylor Bevis (3.08 per set). Central Missouri in 4.
No. 7 Winona State at No. 6 Wayne State – One of two big Northern Sun showdowns on tap, perhaps Winona State was looking forward to it too much. The Warriors were upset by Upper Iowa in four games earlier this week. Not quite on the same level, but Wayne State was also upset as Augustana won in four games. How crazy is that? Now, both teams will look to get back on track, while suddenly one will be one a two-game losing streak. Alyssa Frauendorfer, Elizabeth Genhardt and Katie Hughes are all right around 3.00 kills per set for Winona, while outside Taylor Goar is averaging 4.20 kills per set for Wayne State. Wayne State in 5.
No. 9 Concordia St. Paul at No. 8 Southwest Minnesota State – This is the other big Northern Sun encounter and both involved here have already dropped conference matches so far. Concordia was topped by Winona last week, while Southwest Minnesota State fell to Winona. It makes for an intense match, as someone will drop further down the standings. Kasey Williams has guided the Concordia attack, averaging 12.21 assists per set. Her top target is outside Anna Schlaak, who is averaging 4.24 kills per set. Abby Thissen, Sarah Parker and Eisha Oden are all averaging more than 3.00 kills per set for Southwest Minnesota State. Southwest Minnesota State in 5.
Saturday
No. 1 Ferris State v No. 10 Wheeling Jesuit – Ferris State must get past Walsh in order to remain undefeated for this Great Lakes meeting. Through 10 matches, Ferris State has dropped just five sets, with middle Caroline Heitzman leading the way by averaging 3.23 kills per set. Outside Megan Vander Meer is averaging 2.89 kills per set. Wheeling Jesuit doesn’t have anyone above 3.00 kills per set, but have four players averaging more than 2.00 kills per set in Haley Kindall, Kayce Krucki, Emma Schleucher and Lauren Graves. Ferris State in 4.
