WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State volleyball team dropped its second straight match to a ranked opponent Friday night as the Warriors lost at home against No. 2 Minnesota Duluth 3-0 in straight sets. The Warriors dropped their first conference home loss in front of 721 fans in McCown Gymnasium.
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WSU got off to a slow as they fell behind early. Down 11-9, the Bulldogs went on an 8-3 run to gain some separation to make it a 19-12 game. UMD would end up winning the set 25-16. The Warriors offense struggled as they only recorded five kills and six attack errors for a -.029 attack percentage.
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Winona State had a rough go in the second set as well. After the Warriors pulled ahead for an early 4-3 lead, the Bulldogs went on the attack by going on an 11-3 run to pull ahead 14-7, registering six kills in that span. UMD controlled the rest of the way and won the set 25-16 again. The WSU offense was only able to record a .118 hitting percentage while the Bulldogs hit a blistering .458 hitting percentage.
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The third set was a back-and-forth thriller. The Warriors had a chance to win the game point after
McKenna Larsen recorded a kill to make it 24-23. However, the Bulldogs were able to bounce back and take the set 30-28. Despite a hard-fought set for the Warriors, they were only able to manage a .114 hitting percentage for the set and a .071 hitting percentage for the entire match.
The second-ranked Bulldogs have won all seven of their conference matches in straight sets.
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Taylor Goar led the Warrior attack with nine kills, Larsen recorded 20 assists and
Jamie Cairncross led the defense with 11 digs.
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Winona State will get a shot at a weekend split when it takes on St. Cloud State Saturday at 4 p.m. in McCown Gym.