WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University volleyball team battled back from a 1-0 deficit to beat Bemidji State University 3-1 in McCown Gymnasium on Saturday, Oct. 15, completing a NSIC weekend sweep for the Warriors. 

Bemidji State won set one 25-21, taking a set off Winona State for just the second time since 2014, but WSU responded in strong fashion, winning the subsequent three frames 25-12, 25-18 and 25-10 to earn the victory. 

WSU was led by Madison Larson who hit .419 in the contest and collected 21 kills. Warrior teammate Sidney Paulson added 16 kills and collected 10 digs in a balanced effort for Winona State. Adding to the WSU attack was Rylee Vaughn and Kylie Welch, who both had a pair of service aces; Vaughn earned 11 digs in the contest.

Defensively, Winona State shut down the Bemidji State offensive outburst after the first frame, thanks in large part to Casey Volkmann (14 digs), while Taylor Pagel and Anna Hennessy had three blocks apiece. 

Jaci Winchell handed out 45 assists while running the Warrior offense, as WSU won their second match in a row, having beat the University of Minnesota Crookston 3-0 on Friday. 

As a team, WSU racked up 54 kills and hit .292 on the day, including a .364 mark in the momentum-turning second set. 

Winona State (11-9, 7-6 NSIC) will head back on the road on Thursday, Oct. 20 when WSU takes on Minnesota State, Mankato. The Warriors moved into eighth place in the NSIC following the weekend results around the league and will look to continue moving up the league ladder at 6 p.m. in the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minn.