The University of Sioux Falls volleyball team fought to the bitter end against Winona State but the Warriors took the back-and-forth match in five sets.  Set scores were 17-25, 25-22, 25-7, 12-25, 15-11.

The Cougars (11-7, 3-6 NSIC) battled back after being blitzed 25-7 in the third set to send the match to the decisive fifth frame. USF led 9-8 when the teams switched sides but the Warriors (6-12, 3-6) rallied with a three-point skein to clinch the match and their third league victory.

Junior Emily Johnson floored a match-best 15 kills, upping her career kill total to 992. Kate Hart chipped in 10 kills, while Michelle Ritland had nine terminations. 

The Cougars were out-hit .217-.150 in a match where they went hot-cold from set to set. USF dominated the opening set with a .393 clip (14-3-28), but cooled to a .161 team attack (10-5-31) in WSU's 25-22 set two win. The Warriors crushed USF .385- -.212 (5-12-33) in a 25-7 set three rout but the Cougars bounced back with authority in set four, holding WSU to a .097 clip en route to a 25-12 win.

A sprint to the finish turned into an endurance race in the fifth set. When the two teams switched sides, the Cougars led 9-8, with neither team able to establish an advantage. A Saugen kill sparked a 3-0 run for Winona, who netted four of the last six points to clinch the Homecoming upset of the Cougars.

The Cougars tallied seven service aces, including four from Becky Wessel. The match lasted one hour and fifty three minutes and was USF's fifth five-set match of the season of which the team is 2-3.

USF travels to six-time defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul next weekend.