WINONA, Minn. - After taking the first set and pushing No. 7 Winona State to the brink in the following sets, University of Sioux Falls Volleyball dropped a 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-16) decision on Friday night. The Cougars' four-match win streak was snapped as they fall to 10-6 on the season with a 4-4 mark in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference competition.
 
USF's sophomore trio of Makenna Rockeman, Bria Barfnecht and Lexi Scott carried the Cougar offense by all reaching double-digit kills. Rockeman connected on a match-high 18 kills while Barfnecht added 13 and Scott finished with 11.
 
The Sioux Falls offense was firing on all cylinders in the first set, hitting 18 kills in 36 attempts for a .389 attack percentage en route to a 25-20 lead. Rockeman and Barfnecht each connected on seven kills in the first set and USF was able to stave off Winona State's comeback. Led by Rockeman early, USF built a 13-6 lead, but the Warriors battled back to tie the set at 17-all.
 
After trading points the first set was tied at 20-20 before the Cougars finished on a big run. Rockeman started the set-clinching run with her seventh kill and Barfnecht sandwiched two kills around a Sydney Schaap ace to earn a set point. Jordan Calef then drilled one of her eight kills for the set victory.
 
The Cougars built a lead early in the second set, but Winona State strung together a series of runs to tie the match a one set apiece with a 25-20 victory. Calef was the catalyst in a pair of blocks that helped the Cougars to a 7-3 lead, but WSU quickly tied the score at 8-8. Rockeman and Scott connected on two kills each to keep within striking distance, but Winona State continued to pull away after the Cougars narrowed their deficit to two points on a couple occasions. USF added two more blocks but WSU tallied the final two points for the win.
 
After a quick 4-1 lead by Winona State in the third set, both teams traded points until USF tied the set at 11-11. Two more attack errors by the Warriors gave USF a one-point lead, but five straight points gave Winona State a lead. USF cut their deficit to one point with two Scott kills and again responded to a scoring burst by WSU with Calef recording a kill and a block with Barnecht. Winona State then seized control of the match with four of the final five points for a 25-21 victory.
 
Sioux Falls trailed early in the fourth set and was never able to counteract the Warrior attack as they fell in the fourth set, 25-16. Rockeman, Barfnecht and KaSandra Springer all connected on kills to cut their deficit to 15-12, but Winona State closed on a 10-4 run to take the match-clinching fourth set.
 
Abby Folk posted a team-high 16 digs and Janelle Lam added 12. Led by Calef's seven total blocks, the Cougars recorded 12 blocks in the match, reaching 12 or more for the fourth time this season.
 
Sioux Falls finishes a four-match home stand with a 2 p.m. match against Upper Iowa on Saturday, Oct. 8 at the Stewart Center.