WINONA, Minn. – With a home crowd behind them for the first time this season, Winona State University rallied from a two-set deficit to force a decisive fifth game only to see Minnesota State Mankato spoil the Warriors' McCown Gymnasium opener on Thursday night.

Sophomore Megan Flom once again led WSU in kills (19), and was followed by freshmen Cori Meyers (17) and Paige Christopher (13) who each floored new career-highs in the setback.

Minnesota State (8-1, 1-0 NSIC) defeated Winona State (3-6, 0-1 NSIC) by scores of 25-18, 25-21, 24-26, 19-25, 15-8.

After pushing the Mavericks to extra points in the third set and avoiding a sweep, the Warriors finally had momentum on their side and put together their best game in the fourth set. Mankato took the first point of the game, but WSU never trailed again after that. That Warriors hit a match-high .306 in the fourth game with Christopher, Flom and Meyers combining for 12 of Winona's 16 kills.

With the match on the line, the Warriors couldn't seem to get out of neutral in the fifth set. Mankato opened a 4-1 lead ahead of a Christopher block and a Sarah Suits ace to make it a one-point game. The Mavericks wouldn't allow the Warriors to get any closer than that and proceeded to steal the victory on Winona's court.

Suits recorded two of WSU's four aces compared to eight on the night from Mankato. The Mavericks also posted a 10-8 advantage in team blocks.

Sophomore Bre Maloney posted her fifth straight game with double digit assists and digs, totaling 50 assists for the second consecutive match.  

The Warriors will have a short turnaround to prepare for the defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears on Saturday. First serve in St. Paul, Minnesota is scheduled for 5 p.m.