The Winona State University volleyball team split a pair of games last week against Northern State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead.

On Friday, Sept. 22, it was a conference battle between Winona and Northern State, respectively ranked No. 9 and No.19. The matches were filled with back and forth sets. The Warriors won their opening set, but the Wolves stormed back to win the next three.

Head Coach Joe Getzin was not upset with the team’s performance.

“We battled hard all game, our main issue was consistency and that’s what led to the loss,” Getzin said.

Senior Danielle Rampart led the Warriors with 19 kills on the night.

The Warriors were strong out of the gate with some early work from senior McKenna Larsen, setting up Rampart for some quick kills. She made 46 assists that day.

The Warriors led by seven at one point in the first set, eventually taking it 25-21 after the Wolves attempted a comeback.

The second set proved to be a decisive factor in the outcome of the match. It included five lead changes and 11 ties. The most either team could lead was by three the whole set.

After getting down 13-10, the Warriors were led by Larsen to go up 21-19, assisting everyone including senior Lauren Kudronowicz, who made a season high of 12 kills that day.

The Warriors could not hold onto the lead though, and the Wolves ended the set with a 6-2 run following a timeout.

The third and fourth sets proved to be more difficult for the Warriors, who had seven errors in the third set and 10 in the fourth set. They only recorded seven kills in the final match, made by junior Jordan Runge to finish the night.

The Wolves would take the third and fourth sets 17-25 and 13-25 to end the day.

The Warriors continued to fight on Saturday, Sept. 23 at home again, playing against Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Warriors made the match short and sweet with a sweep against the Dragons with scores of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-19.

Larsen was another big factor in Saturday’s victory, recording seven kills, 43 assists and 12 digs. First-year Becca Pagel also led defensively with 14 digs, as did Rampart with 10 digs of her own. Rampart would go on to have 12 kills on the day as well.

The Warriors ended the day with a .378 kill percentage compared to Moorhead’s .281 kill percentage.

The Warriors opened with an important contribution from junior Maria Wrage with six kills in the opening set. She would end the day with a season-best of 14 kills.

Kudronowicz played a part in the Warrior defensive front with three blocks, two of those coming in the second set. She played a big part in the second set, also having six kills.

“We played excellent defense Friday and it definitely carried over today,” Getzin said.  “Today was very successful and I’m proud of what we accomplished.”

The Warriors improved to 3-2 in the NSIC (9-4 overall) as they begin a stretch of road matches beginning Friday, Sept. 29 against the University of Mary at 6 p.m.