WINONA, Minn. – Sophomore Paige Christopher drilled a career-best 20 kills as No. 16 Winona State University downed (RV) Minnesota State Mankato in four sets on Saturday afternoon inside McCown Gymnasium.
Christopher also stuffed the stat sheet with five digs, four blocks and a service ace.
WSU won by set scores of 25-20, 25-22, 26-28, 25-15.
It was a big bounce-back triumph for Winona State who was swept at No. 22 Upper Iowa on Thursday. Winners of 10 of their last 13 matches, the Warriors improve 18-5 (10-5 NSIC). Minnesota State falls to 15-8 (8-7 NSIC). WSU also moves to 6-5 against teams ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25.
Winona State was in complete control of set one, leading for the duration after surging out to a 6-1 advantage. Christopher had two kills in the opening set that saw offensive contributions throughout the lineup with six different players tallying at least one kill. The Warriors were also sharp defensively, totaling four blocks and 13 digs while earning a sideout on 15 of 21 opportunities.
The following two sets were much more competitive. The Warriors and Mavericks were tied atop the scoreboard 10 times in game two, including a late 19-19 deadlock. WSU pulled ahead thanks to a three-point run that saw Christopher and Madison Rizner team up for a big block and the former flooring her seventh kill of the day. Christopher also smashed the game-winning point as Winona State took a commanding 2-0 match lead.
Game three was the set of the day, featuring nine lead changes and 21 ties. Christopher did all she could to rally the Warriors to a sweep, connecting on eight kills in the set, but collectively WSU hit just .182 in the game. The difference was at the net where Mankato registered four blocks and Winona State failed to record any in the loss.
Following the setback, the Warriors turned on the jets and dominated the final game. Winona State hit .367 and recorded four blocks in the wire-to-wire win. Rizner was a beast at the net with three of her team-high eight blocks coming in set four.
Rizner, a sophomore, has at least eight blocks in two of her last three matches.
Megan Flom and Kate Masberg combined for 23 kills while Rizner and Cori Meyers teamed up for 17 more. Bre Maloney set the offense to a .263 clip with 50 assists, and Becca Pagel led the back row with 19 digs.
Winona State wraps up a stretch of three matches in six days on Tuesday when the Warriors travel to No. 6 CSP. Winona State defeated the Golden Bears earlier this year, 3-1, and will look for its first season sweep of CSP since 1999 on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
