WINONA, Minn. – The No. 25 Winona State volleyball team used a quick start to jump out to an early lead but couldn't sustain it as No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State rallied for a 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-19) win Saturday afternoon in McCown Gymnasium.

Sophomore Lauren Kudronowicz tallied a career-high 15 kills, hit .226 and had five total blocks to lead the Warriors offensively.

The Warriors opened the game with four straight points leading to a very early timeout from the Mustangs, who quickly rallied to tie it at 6-6. The teams remained within two points until a 4-1 run put the Warriors out in front 16-12 and eventually back-to-back kills made it a 20-15 WSU advantage before Taylor Goar secured game one for the Warriors with a kill and the 25-19 win.

WSU hit .273 in the first set compared to .250 from SMSU, but the Warriors struggled from then on as their hitting percentage dropped in each of the next three games, hitting at just a .143 clip in the second set, .047 in the third and -.028 in the fourth and final set.

Despite SMSU hitting .423 in the second set, the Warriors had leads of 10-7 and 11-8 thanks to kills from Kudronowicz, but SMSU responded with a 6-1 run to take a 14-12 lead. WSU would get the lead back down to one on three occasions, before SMSU pulled away with a 5-0 run to take a 22-16 lead and eventually the 25-17 win.

The Warriors found themselves down 24-14 in a third set where neither team hit better than .051, but survived six match points before finally succumbing to the 25-20 defeat. SMSU then finished off the fourth set with a 25-19 victory.

Danielle Rampart finished with a double-double, contributing 11 kills and 12 digs to the stat sheet while Goar had 12 kills.

McKenna Larsen also had a double-double, dishing out 35 assists and collecting 10 digs, while Jamie Cairncross had a match-high 17 digs.

Winona State (8-6, 2-5 NSIC) continues its homestand next weekend when it hosts MSU Moorhead Friday at 7 p.m. and Northern State at 4 p.m. in McCown Gymnasium.