WINONA, Minn. – No. 9 Winona State University won the opening set on Friday night at McCown Gymnasium before No. 19 Northern State University stormed back in the next three sets to upset the Warriors on their home court.
The Warriors were upended by scores of 25-21, 23-25, 17-25, 13-25.
Both squads recorded attacking percentages over .400 in the opening set. WSU drilled 21 kills in the game and held a slight advantage in hitting percentage at .415. The Wolves hit at a .412 clip while narrowly dropping the first set.
The Warriors led by a 20-13 count late in the game, but Northern State cut its deficit to just three points on two occasions as WSU closed in on the win. Danielle Rampart floored the game-winning kill which was one of her seven in the first set.
The second set proved to be the decisive game in the match. The back-and-forth battle could have given the Warriors a commanding 2-0 lead at the break, but the Wolves used it to spark their comeback rally. The game featured five lead changes and 11 ties on the scoreboard. Northern State's biggest lead of the second set was just three points.
Winona used a three-point run to pull in front by a 21-19 count which was immediately answered by a Northern State run to put the Wolves in front, 22-21. A kill by Rampart knotted the score at 22-all, but Northern State ended the set on a 3-1 run.
Out of the break, the Wolves didn't commit a single attacking error in the third set, compared to seven by the Warriors, and pulled away with the win by scoring the final five points consecutively.
The Warriors were their own worst enemy in the fourth set which turned into a blowout by the Wolves. Winona committed 10 errors while recording just seven kills in the game.
Northern State played big at the net over the final two sets and ended the match with eight blocks.
Rampart led WSU with 19 kills followed by a season-high 12 from Lauren Kudronowicz.
McKenna Larsen finished the night with eight kills, 11 digs and 46 assists. Becca Pagel led the defense with 24 digs.
Winona State falls to 8-4 (2-2 NSIC) with the loss and Northern State improves to 11-1 (4-0) with the road victory.
The Warriors have a quick turnaround and will return to their home court on Saturday afternoon against Minnesota-Moorhead. First serve is slated for 2 p.m.
