Wayne State College was held to a .103 attack percentage Friday evening as Winona State registered a 25-17, 25-21, 25-22 Northern Sun Conference volleyball win over the Wildcats at Rice Auditorium.
Winona State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead on the Wildcats to force a quick Wildcat timeout. The Wildcats, who never led in the set, got as close as 15-13 following a Maddie Knobbe kill. But following a Winona State timeout, the Warriors scored the next four points to go back in front 19-13 and Winona State used 16 kills and a .351 attack percentage to eliminate any Wildcat comeback.
Wayne State started slow again in the second set as the Warriors scored the first three points of the set. The Wildcats took their lone lead of the set at 9-8 following a Winona State attack error. WSU then scored five straight points to go in front 13-9. The Wildcats got within one at 20-19 on a Maddie Duffy service ace, but the Warriors produced three straight kills for a 23-19 lead and went on to take the 2-0 advantage.
The third set saw Wayne State take an early 4-0 lead, but Winona State countered with the next four points to even the score at 4-4. The Wildcats held a 9-8 lead following a Katie Stephens kill, but that was the last lead of the set.
Tied at 13-13, Winona State took the lead for good with four straight points at 17-13. Back-to-back kills from Jaci Brahmer and Stephens got WSC within 19-17. After Winona State went in front 21-17, Wayne State rallied one last time and got within 23-22 to force a Warrior timeout. But WSU used a block and service ace to close out the match.
Winona State finished the match with a .194 attack percentage while holding Wayne State to .103. WSU held a 48-28 advantage in kills and 66-57 edge in digs while recording nine blocks to eight for Wayne State.
Stephens led the Wildcats in hitting with nine kills. Alyssa Ballenger had six while Knobbe produced five along with a team-high five blocks. Haley Kauth had 13 digs with Duffy adding 10 and Megan Gebhardt handed out 24 set assists.
The Wildcats (20-7, 11-6 NSIC) play their final home game of the season Saturday, hosting Upper Iowa in a 4 p.m. contest at Rice Auditorium.
