BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – No. 17 Winona State University volleyball officially embarked on its 2018 season Friday at the Ferris State University tournament and came away with a 1-1 record. The Warriors were swept by host No. 21 Ferris State to open the day, but followed the loss with a resounding sweep of their own over Mercyhurst University.
Winona State's depth was tested right out of the gate, playing without the services of three of its returning players due to injury, against a Ferris State team that reached the NCAA DII Regional last season. The Bulldogs were 25-15, 25-19, 25-13 winners over the Warriors.
In the afternoon tilt, WSU was firing on all cylinders in a 25-15, 25-9, 25-8 triumph.
Coming off a program record .267 team attacking percentage in 2017, the new-look Warriors recorded a negative percentage in the opening set against Ferris State while committing an uncharacteristic 10 errors. Winona State quickly shook off the slow start and battled with the Bulldogs late set two.
A kill by freshman Madison Rizner sparked a five-point run that cut the WSU deficit to 21-19 after Ferris State held a commanding 21-14 lead. Rizner and Becca Pagel teamed up for a block at the end of the rally that forced a Bulldog timeout. However, Ferris State came out of the break back in rhythm and scored the next four points to secure a 2-0 match lead.
The Bulldogs opened the third set with a service ace and followed with a service error before going on to lead for the duration of the final game. Megan Flom and Rizner floored kills late in the set to make it a 21-13 game, but Ferris State again rattled off four straight points to complete the sweep.
The Bulldogs dominated the service line with 13 aces compared to just one for WSU.
Freshman Cori Meyers paced the Warriors with eight kills.
Winona State rebounded in a big way later in the day as the Warriors never trailed Mercyhurst at any point during the three-game sweep. WSU put together runs of at least five straight points on four different occasions in the match, capping the deceive win with an 11-point run late in the third set.
Megan Flom drilled a career-best 12 kills in the victory over Mercyhurst, followed by Bre Maloney and freshman Paige Christopher with seven apiece. Maloney totaled 43 assists over both matches on Friday.
Rizner led the way at the net with five block assists as the Warriors totaled nine team blocks. Meyers recorded three aces while Alexis Bass chipped in a pair from the service line.
Playing in her first matches since missing the 2016 season due to injury, Taylor Goar recorded 33 digs on the day.
The Warriors wrap up the weekend with two more matches on Saturday. First up is (RV) Hillsdale College at 10:30 a.m. followed by Wayne State University at 3 p.m.
