Volleyball Opens Home and NSIC Season With Match Against Bemidji State and Travels to Minnesota Crookston This Week

St. Cloud, Minn. – The St. Cloud State volleyball team (7-2) has a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) matches this week including the home opener against Bemidji State (3-5) on Thursday, Sept. 14, at 6 p.m. at Halenbeck Hall. The program also travels to Minnesota Crookston (3-5) to take on the Golden Eagles on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 4 p.m.

This Week

The program starts the week with the first home match of the season and welcomes in Bemidji State for a 6 p.m. match on Sept. 14.
The game is a Red Out with all fans encouraged to wear the color red to support the program.
The Beavers were also at the Keweenaw Classic last weekend and went 2-2 with victories over Wisconsin Parkside and Lake Superior State
BSU began the 2017 campaign playing at the Minot State Classic with a win over South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Sami Leach is leading Bemidji State with her 59 kills and 186 assists (6.41 per set).
Mikhaila Ness has put up 33 kills in 16 sets
Emma Haney has 18 service aces and 85 digs.
SCSU is 41-56 all-time against Bemidji State in a series that started in 1973.
SCSU then travels to Minnesota Crookston to take on the Golden Eagles on Saturday, Sept. 16, for a 4 p.m. match.
Minnesota Crookston participated in the Northern State Invitational last weekend and defeated Minot State and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
The Golden Eagles program opens league play also on Thursday by facing off against Minnesota Duluth on the road.
Kassi Green leads the team with 107 kills (3.96 per set).
Callie Schapekahm has nine service aces.
Maggie Perrel leads the team with her 82 digs (3.04 per set).
St. Cloud State is 14-8 all-time against Minnesota Crookston in a series that started in 1999.

Live Stats and Web Streaming

Live stats for the home match against Bemidji State can be followed at this link / web streaming for the match against the Beavers can be found at this link / live audio for the match from KVSC can be found here
Live stats for the road match against Minnesota Crookston can be found at this link

Notables

St. Cloud State has finished the non-conference portion of the schedule with seven wins in nine matches after going 2-2 at the Keweenaw Classic over the weekend.
The program earned a hard fought five-set victory over Wisconsin Parkside on Friday and a 3-1 victory over Lake Superior State on Saturday.
Senior Becca Gruber led the team with 47 kills and a .222 hitting percentage.
Senior Nicole Miller put up 41 kills and 54 digs plus five service aces.
Sophomore Marah Mulso totaled 36 kills and 13 block assists.
Senior Kayla Crane accumulated 113 assists plus five service aces.
Sophomore Clara Krenz recorded 104 digs (6.04 per set) and was also named to the Keweenaw Classic All-Tournament Team.
Krenz was also named to an all-tournament following the action at the 2017 Cougar Classic in San Marcos, Calif. after the first weekend of the year.
The team's 7-2 record after nine matches is the best start since the 2013 squad also started the season with seven wins in the first nine matches.
The 2013 squad won nine of its first 12 matches to begin the season.
The seven wins this season are already as many victories as the 2000, 2008, 2009 and 2014 SCSU teams had all season long.
The seven wins this year are more victories than St. Cloud State's volleyball program had all season long in 2000 (4), 2001 (4) and 2011 (6).
Gruber leads the team on the season with her 95 kills and average of 2.97 kills per set.
She is second on the team with 28 total blocks.
Gruber ranks 20th in the NSIC in kills (2.97 per set)
Crane leads the team and is 15th in the conference with her 205 assists (6.04 per set).
She is also eighth in the league with her 12 service aces.
Nicole Miller is second on team in kills (92) and digs (109) plus leads the squad with her 13 service aces.
She is sixth in the NSIC in service aces and 15th in digs.
Krenz is the conference leader with her 186 digs (5.81 per set) plus is 16th in service aces (10).
Mulso is averaging 0.97 blocks per set to place 11th in the NSIC.
In the NSIC team rankings, SCSU is third in service aces (52) and opponent kills (10.66). The program is fourth in digs (17.38), sixth in kills (13.75) and eighth in assists (12.44).

Up Next

St. Cloud State continues the road trip early next week with a trip to Minnesota Duluth on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m. The program then returns home to host Augustana on Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. and Wayne State on Sept. 23 at 1 p.m.
The program is 37-75 against Minnesota Duluth since the two schools first squared off in 1969. SCSU is 17-47 all-time against Augustana since the first match in 1982 and 2-11 against Wayne State College since the schools first met in 1992.

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