WINONA, Minn. – No. 16 Winona State University looked poised for an upset while avenging a 3-1 loss to No. 9 St. Cloud State earlier this season on Friday night inside McCown Gymnasium. The Warriors were solid in a set one victory and had the Huskies on the ropes in a competitive second game only to see St. Cloud claim set two en route to three straight wins for another 3-1 triumph over WSU.
St. Cloud prevailed with set scores of 19-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-20.
Winona State hit .250 in its set one win but saw its attacking percentage drop incrementally over the next three games while committing a match-high 11 errors in the decisive fourth set. Unforced errors continued to pile up over the final three games that led to the Warriors' demise.
Kate Masberg floored five of her team-best 12 kills in the opening set while Paige Christopher drilled six of her 12 in game two. The second set proved to be the pivotal game as the sides traded the lead seven times and were tied atop the scoreboard 12 times.
WSU pulled ahead in game two, 16-11, only to see the Huskies rally for five straight to make it a one-point affair. A few rallies later, St. Cloud used a three-point run to finally pull in front, 18-17. The sides traded the lead four more times that saw Winona State reclaim a 22-21 edge on a Megan Flom ace. That stood as the Warriors' final lead as the Huskies answered with three straight points to take a 24-22 advantage, and ultimately close out the win with a 4-1 run to even the match at one game apiece.
Set three was another tightly contested game with six lead changes and 13 ties, however, Winona State seemed to be on its heels for most of the set as the Huskies never relinquished a 15-14 edge midway through.
Winona State faced what seemed to be an insurmountable Huskie lead in set four, 22-14, but the Warriors did not go down without a fight. WSU tallied six unanswered points, its biggest stretch of the match, to cut its deficit to 22-20 and force a St. Cloud timeout. The Huskies proceeded to score three straight points out of the break and seal the victory.
St. Cloud totaled 11 blocks compared to seven by Winona State, including five in the game-winning set. The Warriors held a 70-69 edge in digs led in the back row by Becca Pagel (27). Cori Meyers chipped in 11 digs to go along with eight kills.
The Warriors did drop eight aces on the Huskies, but were also plagued by 10 service errors.
Flom rounded out the offensive leaders with 12 kills of her own, however was limited to a .179 hitting percentage by St. Cloud.
Winona State enters the final game of the regular season on Saturday tied with three other teams for sixth place in the loaded NSIC standings. The Warriors host No. 5 Minnesota Duluth in tomorrow's finale at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs are coming off a 3-2 loss at No. 21 Upper Iowa on Friday night.
