SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Senior Rachel Polland put together the best performance of her career at an opportune time, leading the Winona State volleyball team to an important 3-2 victory at Augustana Saturday evening at the Elmen Center.

Previously limited to just eight matches this season due to injury, Polland had a breakout performance, racking up a career-high 20 kills while hitting a phenomenal .486 percentage to spark the Warriors to the five-set (22-25, 25-22, 25-18, 22-25, 15-8) win over the Vikings.

The Warriors struggled in the early stages of the five-set marathon, hitting just .083 with just ten kills seven errors while Augustana hit .184 as the Vikings took the first set 25-22.

WSU turned the tables in the second set, hitting a more respectable .224 with 17 kills to even the match score at 1-1.

The Warriors heated up significantly in the third set, hitting for a very solid .378 with another 17 kills while committing just three errors to come away with a 25-18 win and a 2-1 match advantage.

The fourth set was tightly-contested throughout with neither team leading by more than three at any point. The Warriors appeared poised to put the match away when four straight points gave WSU a brief 22-21 lead, but Augustana responded with four points of their own to claim a 25-22 win and force a decisive fifth set.

Augie would never lead in the final set. WSU jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead, and after the Vikings tied it at 3-3, the Warriors took over for good.  With a 5-4 lead, the Warriors scored the next six points capped off by a Rachel Polland kill – one of six in the final set –  to open up an insurmountable 11-5 advantage that would eventually become a 15-8 victory.

Three other Warriors joined Polland with double-digit kills, as Danielle Rampart had 13, Taylor Goar had 11 and Lauren Kudronowicz tied a career high with 10 kills. Rampart and Goar both finished with double-doubles, contributing 21 and 17 digs, respectively, to the defensive efforts.

McKenna Larsen handed out a match-high 55 assists – her second-highest total of the season – while contributing 12 digs to also earn a double-double.

Jamie Cairncross (22) and Kalyn Biever (18) teamed up to combine for 40 digs to contribute to the defense as well.

As a team, the Warriors hit .199 while holding the Vikings to .168.

Winona State (15-6, 10-5 NSIC) now prepares for three matches next week, beginning with a Tuesday night road contest at Upper Iowa before returning to McCown Gym for a pair of matches against Northern State and MSU Moorhead on Friday and Saturday.