MARSHALL, Minn. – The Winona State volleyball team couldn't get over the hump in a tight first set and fell in straight sets to No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State Tuesday night in the opening round of the NSIC/US Bank Volleyball Tournament.
The Warriors and Mustangs were evenly matched throughout a back-and-forth first set in which both teams played relatively mistake free. Though SMSU controlled a narrow lead, WSU would not let it grow and, after closing to within one on numerous occasions, finally tied the set at 19-19 with a McKenna Larsen kill. SMSU took a 22-20 lead, but WSU again battled back with two straight points to make it 22-22 but the Mustangs would close it out with a 25-23 win despite the Warriors outhitting SMSU .364 to .324 for the set. WSU had 15 kills with only three errors while forcing five SMSU miscues.
Southwest Minnesota State would take control for the remainder of the match, cruising to a 25-14 win in the second set and finishing off the Warriors with a 25-18 win in the third and final set.
Freshman Lauren Kudronowicz managed put her name in the Warrior record book, hitting .800 for the match with eight kills on 10 attack attempts with no errors. The .800 hitting percentage puts her tied for third with Amy Ball in 1994 for single-game percentage with a minimum of 10 attempts. Teammate Mikaela Girard holds the number two spot with a .909 hitting percentage achieved last season against Minot State, while Stephanie Rieder in 1994 is the only Warrior to have a perfect hitting percentage in a match.
Kudronowicz's eight kills were a team-high as no Warrior was able to reach double digits for just the third time this season. McKenna Larsen added seven kills and a .455 hitting percentage to go with 24 assists while senior Rachel Polland and Danielle Rampart each had six.
