KENOSHA, Wis. – For the second weekend in a row, the Winona State University volleyball team is on the road for early season tournament play. The Warriors opened the UW-Parkside Hampton Inn Invitational on Friday morning with a 3-0 win over McKendree University before returning to the court and rallying for a 3-2 victory over Quincy University.
The Warriors swept McKendree by scores of 25-22, 25-14, 25-22 and shook off a slow start against Quincy with a 21-25, 25-15, 25-12, 25-27, 15-13 triumph.
(RV) Winona State improves to 6-0 on the young season.
Sophomore Madison Rizner led the way in kills (11) and blocks (7) in the opener versus McKendree while adding eight kills and four blocks in the finale. Freshman Madison Larson floored a new career high with 19 kills against Quincy, tallying her second double-double in as many weekends with 15 digs.
Riding high off the morning sweep, Winona State was caught off guard by a winless Quincy team (0-6) in set one of the match. The Hawks scored four straight points to seal a 25-21 win which prompted the Warriors to put their foot on the gas in set two.
Winona State scored the first four points of game two and led by a 9-2 count early on a block by Larson and Rizner. Casey Volkmann recorded a pair of service aces midway through the set as the Warriors cruised to a 25-15 win. It was all Winona State once more in set three before Quincy outlasted the Warriors in set four to prolong the match.
WSU rallied from a 9-4 deficit in the final game sparked by a kill from Cori Meyers who played in both matches Friday after missing all four contests last weekend. The sophomore's kill ignited a 6-1 Warrior run to knot the score at 10-10. Trailing again, 13-12, Kate Masberg drilled her 18th kill of the match to tie the game one final time. Senior Alexis Bass followed with a service ace before lifting off for the game-winning kill.
Masberg's 18 kills are her most since recording a career-best 19 as a freshman in 2017. She also added three blocks and a pair of digs to her impressive stat line. The junior registered 27 total kills on the day.
Libero Becca Pagel combined for 29 digs between the two matches and setter Bre Maloney tallied 81 assists. Maloney's 52 assists against Quincy stand as her fifth career 50-assist outing as the junior setter recorded her first triple-double of the year by adding 11 kills and 16 digs in the finale.
The Warriors wrap up the weekend with two more matches Saturday. Winona State faces the host UW-Parkside at 12:30 p.m. followed by a matchup with Purdue Northwest.
