SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The No. 8 Winona State University volleyball team won the opening match of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Volleyball Tournament, taking down Upper Iowa in four sets (25-26, 25-15, 22-25, 25-19).

The Warriors took the air out of the Peacocks right from the get-go, taking an early 5-2 lead, and WSU never looked back in the first set. As Upper Iowa tried to make their way back into the match, Casey Volkmann made a great play to extend a long rally and Lydia Lange finished it off with a kill to force an UIU timeout. Winona State then went on a 6-0 run to put the set out of Upper Iowa's reach. The Warriors won the set 25-16.

During the second set, WSU strung together several small runs to build a strong lead that was held for the set. The Warriors went up two sets to none after dominating the second set, 25-15. The Warriors looked like they were going to take care of business in straight sets before Upper Iowa went on an 8-0 run to take the lead 23-20 in the third. The Peacocks held on and won 25-22 to extend their season and force a fourth set.

After six ties in the first 10 points during the fourth set, Joe Getzin took a timeout at 10-10 to gather his Warriors. WSU responded nicely as Madison Larson connected on consecutive kills to force an UIU timeout at 16-13. The Peacocks hung in there and brought it to 20-18 before back-to-back Megan Flom kills all but ended the match. The Warriors took the set 25-19 to advance to the NSIC Volleyball Tournament Semifinals.

Winona State was led by Flom and Larson on the offensive end with 18 and 15 kills, respectively. Larson hit an astounding .538, which paced all players. Bre Maloney showed her capabilities all around the floor dishing out 39 assists, collecting nine digs, recording six total blocks, and hitting for five kills. Becca Pagel led the defense with 22 digs and was a key part to holding Upper Iowa to a .152 hitting percentage. Sidney Paulson (13) and Volkmann (10) also recorded double-digit digs.

The second-seeded Warriors will play No. 6 seed Augustana tomorrow, Nov. 19, at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. First serve will be at 4:30pm.

For the most up to date news in Warrior Athletics, please visit: www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and @WinonaStateATH.
About Winona State University Athletics: 

The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words: Graduate Champions.  

Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).  Winona State University competes as an affiliate member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in the sport of women's gymnastics.