Volleyball Falls in Four To No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State

Saturday, November 4

St. Cloud, Minn.

2:00 p.m.

St. Cloud State

16-12, 8-10NSIC

Southwest Minnesota State

25-3, 15-3NSIC

Southwest Minn State

St. Cloud State

Photo by: Maddie MacFarlane

Volleyball Falls in Four To No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State

11/4/2017 5:24:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

St. Cloud, Minn. – Despite eight kills from senior Nicole Miller on Senior Day, the St. Cloud State volleyball team (16-12, 8-10 NSIC) fell to No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State (25-3, 15-3 NSIC) in four sets on Saturday, Nov. 4, at Halenbeck Hall. The team won the first set 25-21 and then lost in the next three by scores of 25-19, 25-10 and 25-19.

Besides Miller's eight kills, senior Becca Gruber, redshirt freshman Abby Templin and junior Micah Nier all had six kills. Miller also had four service aces and 11 digs. Templin had eight digs and five block assists. Nier had six block assists in the contest. Freshman Maddy Torve recorded 20 assists. Senior Kayla Crane picked up 10 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore Marah Mulso totaled four kills and two block assists. Sophomore Clara Krenz recorded 33 digs. That is the third time this season she has had a season-high 33 digs and the fifth time her dig number has been 30 or more on the campaign. Krenz now has 596 digs this season, which is the second-most in a single season in school history and only 82 from reaching Andreanna Pieper (2007) for the top spot. Krenz also surpassed 1,000 career digs in her career this weekend with 1,043 in her career. That number is the seventh-most in school history and only 61 from reaching Megan Hardy (2004-06) for sixth. In the match, SCSU totaled 37 kills, a .067 hitting percentage, 36 assists, eight service aces, 78 digs and 11 blocks.

Southwest Minnesota State was led by Taylor Reiss' 23 kills. She also hit .302 with 20 digs, two solo blocks and three block assists. Kaylee Burmeister has 12 kills and 16 digs. Megan Larson had a match-high 50 assists to go along with four kills, a .444 hitting percentage, 10 digs, two solo blocks and two block assists. Brooke Borchardt picked up 11 kills and had a .280 hitting percentage. Sarina Smith had seven kills and five block assists. Dani Potter totaled 20 digs and two service aces. SMSU had 63 kills, a .240 hitting percentage, 59 assists, five service aces, 90 digs and 10 blocks as a team.

The Huskies came out strong and won the opening set 25-21. It was a back-and-forth set that featured 13 tied scores and five lead changes. SCSU took the lead for good when Templin and Nier combined on a block to give the team a 21-20 advantage. The block led the Huskies to close the set on a 5-1 rally. Gruber, Templin and Miller all had two kills in the set.

The second set saw the Mustangs win 25-19. Miller led the team in the set with her three kills.

The third set was SMSU from the early going as the team jumped out to a 10-2 advantage in the 25-10 victory. Templin led the squad with her three kills.

The fourth set was another back-and-fourth one that featured seven tied scores. SCSU held an 11-9 lead only to see SMSU rally and go on a 9-4 run to take control. St. Cloud State would get back to within two, 18-16, on a Templin kill, but could get no closer in the eventual 25-19 SMSU set win and match victory.

The SCSU volleyball team is back on the road next week and travels to play against Wayne State College on Friday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m. and Augustana on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m.

Located in Central Minnesota along the oak-crowned west bank of the Mississippi River in the city of St. Cloud, Minn., St. Cloud State University sponsors 19 varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Huskies compete at the NCAA Division I level in men's hockey (National Collegiate Hockey Conference) and women's hockey (Western Collegiate Hockey Association), while its NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the University's nordic ski team competes in the Central Collegiate Ski Association.

To learn more about the academic opportunities available at St. Cloud State University, please visit stcloudstate.edu