BISMARCK, N.D. - Hoping to snap a two-week tailspin, the University of Mary Volleyball team took on #25 Winona State University for the backend of the Dig Pink Weekend.
 
The Marauders (8-12, 3-8 NSIC) struggled to contain their fourth ranked opponent in the last six matches as the Warriors (11-7, 5-6 NSIC) put a stranglehold on the first two sets before sweeping the match in three and handing U-Mary their sixth straight loss.
 
The Warriors jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the first set, but the Marauders stayed close behind as they narrowed the deficit to 5-4 and matched point-for-point up until a 12-11 advantage for Winona State.
 
U-Mary hit a wall, however, as the Warriors rallied off five straight points to opne up the lead at 17-11 before the Marauders could muster a counter attack at 3-1 off two Thayna Silva kills and a Winona State error to make the score 18-14 in favor of the visitors. The Warrior's offense apparently found a groove at that point as they closed the set on a 7-1 run to put U-Mary down a set at 25-15.
 
Unfortunately, the offense couldn't get in gear in the second set for the Marauders as Winona State turned a 2-1 deficit into a 13-3 advantage and kept their foot on the gas throughout the entire set as they cruised to a deciding 25-10 win in the second set that put U-Mary on the brink of another sweep.
 
After a strategic switch that put Alex Brown at outside hitter, U-Mary's offense found the right combination as they jumped out to an early 7-4 lead and kept the cushion all the way to 10-8 midway through the set.
 
Winona State seemingly turned the tides with a convincing 5-1 run to retake the lead at 13-11, but U-Mary came right back with a 6-1 run off a kill from Silva, Rachel Astrup, and Freddie Campbell, an Elizabeth Carcia solo block and two Warrior errors to put the lead back into the Marauder's hands at 17-14.
 
Yet once again, the Warriors fired off a run another 6-1 run of their own to swing the score to 20-18 with the Marauders playing catch-up.
 
U-Mary kept the score within two at 22-20 but couldn't get over that last hump as the Warriors closed the match on three straight points t o make the score 25-20 final.
 
The Marauders had good ball movement on the offensive end of the court as Freddie Campbell led the way with eight kills, followed by six kills each from Thayna Silva and Lauren Randall, and Rachel Astrup rounding out the quad with five kills.
 
Elizabeth Garcia had another decent all-around effort with three kills, three block assists and one solo block on the night.
 
Janell Finkbeiner got the call as the primary setter and she responded with 21 assists to go with three digs.
 
Casey Reamann got the call as the libero for the night and she responded with 11 digs.
 
The Marauders will host Minot State University early next week with a match on Tuesday, October 20, at the McDowell Activity Center for their annual Campers Night.
 
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