Seventh-ranked Winona State outlasted No. 9 Wayne State 25-18, 19-25, 25-20 and 25-23 in a key Northern Sun Conference volleyball matchup Friday in Winona, Minn.
The first set was close early featuring five ties and two lead changes, but with Winona State holding a 12-11 lead the Warriors reeled off five of the next six points to take control of the set for a 25-18 win.
Wayne State found the momentum in the second set, never trailing while forcing eight Winona State attack errors as the Wildcats evened the match with a 25-19 set win.
The Wildcats led early in the third, but Winona State scored six of seven points midway through the set to turn a 13-11 deficit into a 17-14 Warrior lead and Wayne State never got closer than two points the rest of the set as Winona State notched a 25-20 third set win.
The fourth set saw the host Warriors take an early 10-4 lead. The Wildcats battled back and knotted the score at 15 before Winona State scored five points in a row for a 20-15 lead. The Wildcats rallied one more time to even the score at 23 before the Warriors scored the final two points to clinch the match 25-23.
Winona State held a .231 to .135 hitting advantage over Wayne State. The Wildcats had 44 kills and 23 attack errors on 155 attempts while the Warriors recorded 59 kills on 22 attack errors and 160 attempts. Winona State held an 82-76 edge in digs over WSC while the Wildcats forced 15 service errors by Winona State. Wayne STate had three service aces in the match to just one by Winona State while the Warriors had one more block than the Wildcats 9-8.
Tarrin Beller paced Wayne State in hitting with a season-high 13 kills to go with 13 digs for her first ever double-double while Erin Gross added 11 kills. Michaela Mestl was credited with a season-high 25 digs followed by libero Haley Kauth with 13. Alex Opperman posted seven blocks while setter Megan Gebhardt handed out 36 set assists.
Wayne State (14-5, 5-5 NSIC) visits Upper Iowa Saturday at 3 p.m. in Fayette, Iowa.
