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ABERDEEN, S.D. – The No. 21 Winona State volleyball team won its first NSIC Tournament match in program history, sweeping No. 4 Northern State 3-0 Wednesday night in Aberdeen, S.D.

The sixth-seeded Warriors upset the third-seeded Wolves with consecutive 25-19, 25-19, 25-19, handing NSU its first sweep of the season.

Taylor Goar and Maria Fruechte led WSU with 11 kills apiece, with Goar hitting a strong .308 with seven digs.

WSU got a tremendous effort from freshman Maria Wrage, who hit .533 with nine kills and just one error. McKenna Larsen hit .571 with four kills and a match-high 41 assists.

The Warriors were never in serious danger of dropping a set. In the opener, WSU and NSU were tied 16-16, but the Warriors pulled away with a 9-3 run to end the set and earn the 25-19 win.

The two teams were again in a tight match early on, with WSU clinging to a 13-12 advantage. But a crucial 6-1 run gave WSU breathing room at 18-13 before Lauren Kudronowicz closed it out with a kill for another 25-19 win.

Northern State had an early 8-5 lead, but the Warriors closed the door with a 10-1 spurt capped off by a Danielle Rampart kill to move ahead 15-9. An ace from Taylor Goar later moved it to 18-10 and Rampart ended it with a third straight 25-19 win to pull off the big upset.

The Warriors held the Wolves to just a .165 hitting percentage, by far NSU's lowest of the season. The Wolves' previous worst hitting percentage this season was .201 against MSU Moorhead. On the other hand, WSU's .276 hitting percentage was the fourth best an opponent has hit against the Wolves this year.

Winona State (19-9) moves on to the NSIC Tournament semifinals, where it will take on second-seeded Southwest Minnesota State at 12 p.m. Saturday at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul.

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