WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University women's volleyball team faced off against Minnesota State University Moorhead to start a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) weekend, defeating the Dragons 3-2 in a closely contested match.
As a team, the Warriors registered a .280 hitting percentage in the match, compared to .194 for the Dragons. Winona State University showed an edge defensively with Kylie Welch earning 29 digs to lead the Warriors, while Emily Ramsay led MSUM with 23 digs.
Stat Leaders:
Set one:
The Warriors and Dragons saw a closely contested match early on before MSUM would go on a 5-0 run to make the score 15-11. WSU would respond right away with a 4-0 run of their own to tie the match back up. Minnesota State Moorhead would rally together and eventually take set one with a kill by Raiah Mandell 20-25.
Set two:
The Dragons would get on the board first with a kill from Brielle Riess, but WSU would quickly respond with a kill from Sidney Paulson. A back-and-forth battle would ensue before a 6-1 run would end the set highlighted by service aces from Ashlyn Steding and Anna Hennessy ending the set at 25-21.
Set three:
WSU tying the match up 1-1 would look to respond early, but MSUM would not go away, battling every point with the Warriors before a 4-0 run by the Dragons would creak the door open at 17-13. Winona State would eventually tie the match back up at 20-20 with a kill form Jayda Berg, but Minnesota State Moorhead would see 5-2 run ending with a kill from Brielle Riess.
Set four:
The beginning of set four would see a fire lit on the Winona State end, with an early 4-0 lead from the Warriors highlighted by a slew of kills from Gianna Vollrath, Lydia Lange, and Sidney Paulson. The Dragons would get on the board eventually bringing the set within two points, but WSU would close the door with another 4-0 run highlighted by another Jayda Berg kill. The Warriors and Dragons would trade points before a Sidney Paulson Kill would end set four comfortably at 25-15.
Set five:
The Warriors started set five out with a 5-2 lead with an attack error by the Dragons, leading to a MSUM timeout. Kills coming from Warrior teammates Quinn Robak and Jayda Berg would eventually lead to yet another Dragon timeout at 9-4. WSU would eventually end the set and match on a 9-1 run total, ending with a block from Sidney Paulson at 15-5.
Winona State (11-8, 4-4 NSIC) are next in action on Saturday, October 12 at 5pm against #21 Northern State University (11-3, 3-3 NSIC) at home, inside McCown gymnasium.
