WINONA, Minn. – In a battle of NSIC heavyweights, No. 14 Winona State University saw its upset bid of No. 5 University of Minnesota Duluth come up just short in a thrilling five-set match on Friday night at McCown Gymnasium.
The Warriors battled back from a 2-1 match deficit to force a decisive fifth set, and led by a 10-6 count in the game, before the Bulldogs rallied for a 15-13 win in the set to close out their road victory.
Duluth claimed the victory by set scores of 25-23, 20-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-13.
Lauren Kudronowicz floored 10 kills and totaled a season-high five blocks. WSU matched its season high of seven team blocks in the setback.
Danielle Rampart led all players with 19 kills.
UMD entered the match leading DII in hitting percentage (.338). Winona successfully held the Bulldogs well below that mark at .284, but it wasn't enough for the home team.
WSU trailed by a 21-16 count late in the opening set, but rallied to close the gap at 23-22 on a kill by Rampart. A Winona service error follow to halt the Warriors' momentum in an attempt to knot the score, and Kate Berg drilled one of her 17 kills on the night to seal the UMD win.
Rampart again came up big in the second set, flooring a kill to knot the score, 18-18, to halt a four-point Bulldog run. That sparked an 8-2 run for Winona as the Warriors tied the match with a 25-20 win.
Duluth fired on all cylinders in the third set, hitting a match-best .444 to take a 2-1 advantage.
However, the Warriors responded in set four with their best offensive performance of the night with a .366 attacking percentage. Rampart drilled seven kills on 12 swings in the victory which evened the match at two games apiece.
A kill by Kudronowicz in the fifth and final game gave WSU a 10-6 advantage, but the battled-tested Bulldogs responded with four straight points to tie the set. Back-to-back kills by Rampart again staked Winona to a 12-10 lead before another four-point UMD run.
A Bulldog error cut Winona's deficit to 14-13 before a long rally went to UMD in the final point of the game.
Rampart added 13 digs, two aces, two assists and a block assist to her stat line for WSU. McKenna Larsen led the Warriors with 36 set assists while chipping in 11 digs and a pair of kills.
Four Warriors recorded double-digit kills and three totaled double-digit digs. Becca Pagel led all players with 26 digs.
Maria Fruechte floored 13 kills while posting a season-best .478 hitting percentage.
Winona State falls to 13-5 (7-3 NSIC) as its five-match winning streak comes to an end, and UMD improves to 16-2 (9-1 NSIC).
The Warriors return to their home court on Saturday afternoon to take on St. Cloud State University at 3 p.m.
