Reid Peters/Winonan

The No. 24 Winona State University volleyball team split a pair of games last week, beating Minnesota State University Moorhead on Friday and falling to No. 8 Northern State on Saturday.

For a third consecutive week, Winona State came into a matchup with a top 25 ranking.

The Warriors secured a 3-1 victory over Moorhead Friday night in McCown Gymnasium.

Danielle Rampart posted a career-high 29 digs and a match-high 17 kills while McKenna Larsen notched her second career triple-double collecting 47 assists, 10 kills and 10 digs for the Warriors. The sophomore also recorded a hitting percentage of 2.96 in the match.

“We had great intensity and energy, which helped us limit their runs,” Rampart said. “We also served very well which put us in great positions to run a quick offense.”

Taylor Goar was the third Warrior with at least a double-double, adding 15 kills and 20 digs.

In the first set, Winona State relied on a late run to notch the victory. With the Dragons ahead 21-20 after a kill from Kaitlin VanWinkle, the Warriors responded with a 4-0 surge highlighted by three kills by Rampart to reclaim the lead for the Warriors 24-21. The Dragons fended off one set point before Lauren Kudronowicz sealed the game with a kill to complete the set with a win for the Warriors.

Rampart led all players with seven digs and six kills in the opening set.

Moorhead held an early 8-6 advantage in the second set, but the Warriors responded with a 9-2 surge to gain a 15-10 advantage. Winona State finished off the set to take a 25-20 victory and a 2-0 match lead.

The Warriors ended the third set of the match with a hitting percentage of .120 compared to .220 from the Dragons. The result of the set was a 25-20 Dragon win, forcing a fourth set.

With Winona State hanging on to a 10-9 advantage, the Warriors went on an 8-1 spurt to increase their lead 18-10. An eventual kill from Goar secured the set 25-17 and the match 3-1.

First-year Maria Wrage netted nine kills and a pair of blocks while recording a team-best .381 hitting percentage throughout the match.

Kudronowicz was one of four Warriors to notch double-digit kills with 11 total.

On Saturday afternoon, Winona State fell in a two-set hole before ultimately dropping the match 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 19-25, 25-23) to undefeated Northern State in McCown Gymnasium.

After dropping the first two sets, the Warriors used a .400 hitting percentage in the third set while limiting the Wolves to .216 on the offensive end.

Winona State carried its momentum into the fourth set and maintained a lead for the majority of the frame. With the Warriors ahead 18-15, the Wolves used a short run to knot the score 19-19. Goar had a kill to reclaim the lead for the Warriors, but Northern State ended the match on a 6-3 spurt to take the fourth and final set 25-23.

The lone set the Wolves outhit the Warriors was in the second set, a 25-23 win for Northern State.

“Northern was a great team,” Rampart said. “I thought we competed well against them, but just had too many unforced errors.”

Goar recorded a hitting percentage of .346 to accompany her career-high 22 kills and 11 digs while Kudronowicz also had a career-high with 17 kills and a team-best .425 to couple her five digs and two blocks.

Jamie Cairncross added 16 digs, Summer Larsen added 13 and Rampart led the team with 19 digs of her own. Rampart also posted 14 kills to achieve her third consecutive double-double.

Winona State (9-7, 3-6 NSIC) hits the road next week, traveling to Minot State and the University of Mary Friday and Saturday, respectively.