No. 12 Winona State took down No. 8 Wayne State 20-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-16, and 15-13 in NSIC play Saturday afternoon in Rice Auditorium in Wayne.
The two teams battled in the first set early and the Wildcats took a 12-9 lead that forced a timeout from the Warriors. Wayne State continued the set with the lead and ultimately took the first frame on a kill from redshirt freshman middle hitter Maggie Brahmer.
The second set saw nine ties and five lead changes. With the score at 14-13 in favor of Winona State, Wayne State took its first timeout of the match. The back and forth frame continued and trailing 20-18, Wayne State used its second timeout of the set. The Warriors finished the set to tie the match. Sophomore outside hitter Kelsie Cada led WSC in the set with five kills.
Wayne State jumped out to an early 11-6 lead in the third set that forced a Winona State timeout. The Wildcats never trailed in the set and took the third on a block from sophomore outside hitter Elly Larson and redshirt freshman middle hitter Taya Beller. Jaz DeHaan, a freshman outside hitter, led the ‘Cats with four kills in the set.
The Warriors jumped out to an early lead in the fourth and forced WSC to use both timeouts of the set with the scores in favor of Winona State at 7-3 and 13-7. The Warriors led the rest of the frame and took the fourth set. DeHaan had four kills in the set to lead Wayne State.
In the fifth set Wayne State got out to a 5-2 lead early and forced a Winona State timeout. The Warriors took the lead 12-11 and forced a timeout from the Wildcats. Wayne State tied up the set at 12-12 but Winona State took three of the final four points to win the final set. Leading the ‘Cats in kills in the set was Cada with four.
Leading the Wildcats offensively was Cada with 16 kills followed by Brahmer with 13 and DeHaan with 12. Cada also led the team in digs with 19 followed by sophomore defensive specialist Jordan McCormick with 11. Beller paced Wayne State with seven blocks while sophomore setter Rachel Walker had 48 set assists.
The next match for the Wildcats (17-4, 10-3 NSIC) will be Thursday evening, hosting Augustana in a NSIC contest at Rice Auditorium starting at 6 p.m.
