Dillon Hogan/ Winonan

Another week with three matches brought two wins for the Winona State University volleyball team. It also added a second loss to their season.

Head coach Joe Getzin said the Warriors are off to a great start, but there is still room for improvement.

“Duluth is a front-runner in the conference as is Wayne State, Southwestern and many more. The good teams in this league are numerous,” Getzin said before the matches. “We need to take care of business because we will be seeing a lot of great competition.”

The 3-0 sweep of  Minnesota State, Mankato in the opening match was the first time the Warriors had been able to do so since 1977.

Winona State took an early lead, which they would not surrender en route to the 25-18 victory.

The second set presented a closer game, both teams with the Warriors coming out on top.

Down by two late in the match, the Warriors pulled ahead 23-22 before two more kills gave them the 25-23 win.

Much like in the second set, the third and final set had the Warriors playing from behind early.

Falling behind by seven, a 12-5 run by the Warriors tied the match at 21.

The back and forth between the two teams ended when Paige Garriga finished the match with a kill for the 26-24 victory.

Danielle Rampart, who recorded 17 kills to lead both squads, once again paced the Warriors offense. McKenna Larsen again led the Warriors with 31 assists, which was also the top mark for either team.

On defense Jamie Cairncross and Taylor Goar had 13 and 12 digs, respectively.

After taking down Minnesota State, the Warriors had their first road test of the NSIC season, traveling to Moorhead, Minn.

The Warriors notched another victory to their season with wins against Minnesota State University Moorhead.

A late run in the first match gave the Warriors a 25-20 set win.

In the second match the Warriors secured a 25-17 win over Moorhead.

After two straight-set wins the Warriors were down late in the third and final set. A six-point run by the Warriors put them ahead 20-19. Scoring five of the last seven points, the Warriors got the sweep of Moorhead by the score of 25-23.

Rampart and Goar accounted for 23 of the Warriors total kills with 11 and 12, respectively. Larsen again had a match high assist total of 27 while Cairncross had 11 digs top the match totals.

The final match of the week was another road game, this time in Aberdeen, S.D. against No. 24 ranked Northern State University.

The Wolves swept the Warriors in three straight matches by scores of 25-21, 25-20 and 25-20.

Individually, Larsen was two digs away from a triple double. She registered ten kills, 27 assists and eight digs.  On the offensive end, the Warriors recorded a .133 hitting percentage in the match.

The Warriors are now 10-2 overall on the season and 5-1 in the NSIC.

The next two matches are at home against the University of Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State University.

Winona State will take on the Bulldogs at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3 at McCown Gymnasium.

The Warriors will face the Huskies at 4 p.m. the following day also at McCown Gymnasium.