WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State volleyball team played one of its best matches of the season in a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-20) sweep against Northern State. The Warriors won in straight sets over the Wolves in front of 290 rowdy fans Friday in McCown Gymnasium.

Winona State (17-6, 12-5 NSIC) got a little revenge against Northern State (17-8, 10-7 NSIC) on Halloween night. The last time the two teams met in Aberdeen, the Wolves swept WSU 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-20).

The first set was an evenly-matched battle early on as the Warriors never let NSU get more than a two point lead. The largest lead the Wolves held was a 6-4 lead, but that was when WSU took control. Winona State would score eight of the next 10 points to take a 12-8 lead in the middle of the set, with seven of the eight points coming off of kills. Taylor Goar registered four of the seven Warrior kills during that stretch. Winona State was able to expand their lead up to 22-14 late in the set off of a four point rally, three of which came off of kills by Goar, Lauren Kudronowicz, and McKenna Larsen. The Wolves made a late rally by scoring four of the next five points to make it 23-18. However, the Warriors would put the match away on a kill by Rampart and an attack error by the Wolves to win the set 25-18. The Warriors defense frustrated Northern State into hitting .032 for the set.

The second set was another back-and-forth battle as neither team took more than a two-point lead until a Larsen service ace to give Winona State a 17-14 lead. After Northern State closed the deficit to 20-18 on service error, the Warriors finished strong by scoring five of the last seven points to win the set 25-20 on a strong kill by Rampart. The Warriors were strong on the offensive end by hitting a fantastic .393 for the set.

Unlike the first two sets, WSU set the tone early in the third set. The Warriors came out of the break on fire by scoring seven of the first eight points to take a 7-1 lead, with five of the seven points coming off of kills and finished off by a service ace by Larsen. The Wolves would go on a run of their own to score 10 of the next 15 points to cut the WSU lead to 12-11. The Warriors and Wolves fought back and forth during the latter part of the set as WSU held a 19-17 lead late in the set. Rampart took control late in the third set by scoring three of Winona State's last six points, two of which off kills and the set point on a service ace to give WSU the 25-20 win. 

Rampart led the Warrior attack with 17 kills on a .382 attack percentage and also recorded her 15th double-double of the season. Kudronowicz was outstanding, hitting a blistering .632 while recording a season-high 13 kills. Goar, meanwhile, registered her ninth double-double with a 10-kill, 11-dig effort. 

Larsen dished out 44 assists and also led the Warriors from the service line with four service aces.

Winona State will return for their final home match of the regular season Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. against MSU Moorhead in McCown Gym.