Reid Peters/Winonan

The Winona State University volleyball team dropped a trio of games during its conference road trip this week after facing Upper Iowa University, Wayne State College and Augustana University.

Winona State came into the week ranked No. 22 in the national polls with a 7-2 record, but could not execute on the road.

The first game was a 3-1 loss at Upper Iowa Tuesday night in Fayette, Iowa.

Playing shorthanded, the Warriors were missing two of their top hitters: Danielle Rampart and Maria Fruechte.

Winona claimed the first set 25-16, but were unable to hold off the Peacocks and dropped the next three sets.

Lauren Kudronowicz chipped in a hitting percentage of .500 while collecting five kills with no errors in the opening set.

The Warriors were hanging on to just a two-point lead 17-15 when they went on an 8-1 run to put the set away and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Winona State lost momentum going into the second set, hitting .056 which led to an eventual 25-16 Peacock victory, locking the match at 1-1.

The Warriors were outhit in third set, recording a hitting percentage of .222, compared to .342 from the Peacocks. Upper Iowa managed to pull out a 25-23 victory and take a 2-1 lead before winning the final set 25-20.

Taylor Goar led the way for Winona State with 13 kills and 14 digs for another double-double despite hitting .098. Kudronowicz chipped in 12 kills and hit .360 to add to the Warrior effort.

McKenna Larsen netted 33 assists and posted seven kills as well.

The Warriors then dropped its matchup to No. 5 Wayne State in straight sets (25-21, 28-26, 25-22) Friday night in Rice Auditorium.

Goar posted for the Warriors a match-best 20 kills leading to her fifth straight double-double.

Wayne State jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first set and later made it 14-10 in favor of the Wildcats. The Warriors answered with a quick 4-0 run to knot the match 14-14. Wayne State then tallied six of the next eight points and won the opening set 25-21.

Late in the second set, Winona had its opportunities to even the match while they trailed Wayne State 23-21.

Kills from Rampart and Kudronowicz evened the score, and a Wildcat attack error put the Warriors up a set point.

The Wildcats regained momentum and went on to win the match 28-26.

In the third set both teams posted hitting percentages of .125, but Wayne State posted the victory 25-22 to net the match 3-0.

“Wayne was just a very scrappy team that got up everything we hit at them,” Larsen said. “They made some digs just to keep rallies going and I think that took a toll on us.”

Kudronowicz ended with eight kills and a hitting percentage of .240, while Jamie Cairncross collected 17 digs for the Warriors.

In a matchup between a pair of No. 22-ranked opponents, Winona State fell in straight sets to Augustana Saturday night at the Elmen Center in Souix Falls.

The first set between the two teams was a back-and-forth affair. After the Vikings built a 17-11 lead, Winona State came back with an 8-3 run of its own capped off by consecutive kills from Rampart to the Augustana lead to one.

The Warriors reclaimed leads at the 22-21 and 23-22 marks and had the lead six separate times throughout the course of the set, but they could not finish the Vikings.

Augustana would go on to claim the opening set 33-31.

Winona posted a hitting percentage of .278 in each of the first two sets, but Augustana claimed the second set 25-20 for the quick 2-0 match advantage.

The Warriors went on to hit .171 in the third set that saw the Vikings win the set 25-18 to complete the sweep.

Goar and Kudronowicz each had eight kills, while Rampart led the Warriors with a match-high 15 kills. Maria Wrage also had seven kills while hitting .375.

Larsen recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 31 assists and 13 digs.

“Just like in any sport, its not the same playing on the road like it is at home.” Larsen said, “Having your home court is a big advantage, and I think this team is ready for this four-game home stand.”

Winona State (7-5, 1-4 NSIC) will return home for the next two weekends to take on four home games starting next Friday Oct. 2 with a 7 p.m. match against Sioux Falls before a 2 p.m. matchup with No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday, Oct. 3.