WINONA, Minn. – Following a crushing five-set loss to (RV) Sioux Falls on Friday night, Winona State's playoff hopes were in serious doubt entering Saturday's regular season finale against No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State. Instead of backing down from the challenge, the Warriors showed their resolve and battled the Mustangs before ultimately falling in four sets.
Winona State pushed SMSU to extra points in the opening set, and rallied from a big hole early in set two for the win, prior to the high-powered Mustangs claiming the final two games for the match victory. SMSU won by set scores of 29-27, 23-25, 25-21, 25-18.
Prior to the match, the Warriors honored their four seniors: Taylor Goar, Jordan Runge, Sophie Wilker and Maria Wrage. The senior class compiled a four-year record of 81-39.
Winona State's young team rallied around its veteran leaders on Saturday against one of the best teams in the country for an exciting match inside McCown Gymnasium.
Goar led the WSU offense, as she did for much of the second half of the season, with a .333 attacking percentage, 16 kills and 15 digs. She concludes her career ranked fifth in program history with 1,281 kills, 11th all-time with 1,336 digs and 11th with 114 career service aces.
Wrage floored eight kills and recorded four of Winona State's nine blocks on the day. She finishes her career ranked ninth all-time in career block assists (208).
Winona State's season comes to an end with a record of 13-15 (10-10 NSIC) as the Warriors will miss the conference tournament for the first time since 2013. Despite falling short of the postseason, the Warriors found plenty of success in 2018, including three wins against AVCA Top 25 opponents and plenty of building blocks on the roster as the team's underclassmen shined all year.
Sophomore Megan Flom produced a breakout season for WSU and led the team in kills (266), including 16 on Saturday against SMSU - seven of which came in the set two win. Freshman Madison Rizner led the defense at the net with five blocks on Saturday. The rookie recorded a team-best 87 blocks this season and ranked fourth with 160 kills. Fellow freshman Cori Meyers, who missed the final weekend due to injury, ranked third on the team in kills (199).
Libero Becca Pagel led the back row with 17 digs Saturday and freshman Casey Volkmann added a season-high 11 digs as well. Sophomore Bre Maloney stepped into the starting setter role this season to average 10.17 assists/set.
