WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State volleyball team got back on track Saturday afternoon, sweeping visiting St. Cloud State 3-0 in front of 490 fans in McCown Gymnasium.

The Warriors jumped out to a very hot start, recording the first eight points of the match.  WSU maintained its eight-point cushion all the way to 21-13 before finishing off the Huskies 25-19.  Neither team hit for a solid number in the opening set, with the Warriors recording a .162 percentage while holding the Huskies to just a .026 clip.  Danielle Rampart, however, hit .636 with seven kills to prove the difference maker.

Both teams had their best performances of the match in the second set, but the result was the same – a 25-22 win for the Warriors – despite being outhit by the Huskies .382 to .333.  Rampart connected for six more kills to lead the way to a 2-0 match lead.  

The two teams cooled off in the third and final set, with the Warriors hitting .170 to the Huskies' .108.  The set was closely contested throughout, with no team creating more than a three point cushion.  After SCSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead, WSU battled back to tie it 3-3. From that point, the teams traded points and no team led by more than two all the way to a 20-20 score.  The Warriors the emerged with four straight points with senior Rachel Polland at the service line to take a 24-20 lead before finishing off SCSU for good with a 25-21 win.

Rampart continued her wonderful freshman season with a 17 kill, 11 dig effort while hitting .361 for the match.  McKenna Larsen also had a solid effort with nine kills and 25 assists while hitting .286.  Polland, meanwhile, hit .385 while collecting five kills.

Winona State (11-3, 6-2 NSIC) heads back on the road next weekend for a pair of matchups with Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State on Friday and Saturday.