INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – After taking No. 17 Colorado School of Mines to the brink in five sets on Friday, (RV) Winona State University found itself face-to-face with a three-match losing streak on Saturday night against Harding University. The Warriors battled No. 12 Wheeling Jesuit earlier in the day but fell short, and trailed Harding after sets one and three before prevailing for a five-set triumph.
WSU come from behind to defeat Harding by set scores of 21-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17, 15-10. The Warriors dropped their first match of the day to the nationally-ranked Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals by scores of 18-25, 25-21, 22-25, 18-25.
Megan Flom continued to impress as the Warriors' leading offensive threat on Saturday. The sophomore drilled 25 kills in the finale against Harding which is tied for ninth-most in program history. Flom floored 19 kills in the morning match against Wheeling Jesuit, recorded 72 kills on the weekend and leads WSU with 105 kills this season.
Senior Sophie Wilker downed a career-best nine kills Friday night against Colorado Mines and twice recorded seven blocks over the weekend. She totaled 23 blocks over four matches in Indianapolis and leads the Warriors with 32 denials on the year.
Winona State avoided its first three-match losing streak since 2015 with a number of big performances against Harding. Along with Flom's monster match, freshmen Hayley Dessner (13) and Madison Rizner (11) floored career highs in kills. Sophomore libero Becca Pagel dug a career-best 32 balls and sophomore setter Bre Maloney guided the offense with a career-high 50 assists.
As a team, the Warriors totaled season highs in kills (67), digs (98) and matched their high in aces (9) and blocks (12). Senior Taylor Goar recorded a season-best eight kills and two blocks. Freshman Paige Christopher tallied five block assists and fellow rookie Casey Volkmann accounted for two service aces.
Winona State (3-5) opens conference action on Thursday, September 6 against Minnesota State Mankato. The Warriors first home match of the year is slated for 6 p.m. in McCown Gymnasium.
