ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The No. 24 Winona State volleyball team used a balanced offensive effort to sweep St. Cloud State 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-11) Saturday at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud.
Maria Fruechte and Taylor Goar each had eight kills, while Maria Wrage and McKenna Larsen tallied seven. Larsen hit .429 with 16 digs and a match-high 28 assists.
Neither team had more than a two point lead until a 4-0 WSU run put the Warriors in front 18-13 before Fruechte finished off the set with a kill for the 25-20 win.
That would prove to be the Warriors' toughest challenge, as WSU cruised to wins in the following two sets. WSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead and later a 7-2 run gave the Warriors a 17-10 advantage before closing out the set with five straight points for the convincing 25-14 win. WSU hit .225 with 13 kills and just four errors in the second set while holding the Huskies to more errors than kills – 8-7 – and a -.025 attack percentage.
It got worse for the Huskies in the final set, getting just five kills compared to nine errors. WSU took advantage of the miscues, and back-to-back service aces from Larsen gave WSU an early 6-1 lead. The Warriors ended the match on a 14-4 spurt with mini runs of 4-0 and 6-0 mixed in to earn the 25-11 win.
Wrage led the Warriors with five blocks, while Lauren Kudronowicz and Fruechte each had three. Jamie Cairncross added 12 digs to the defensive effort.
Winona State (15-8, 9-7 NSIC) is back on the road next weekend with matchups against No. 4 Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls on Friday and Saturday.
