Volleyball hosts No. 6 Duluth in NSIC showdown

Tuesday, September 11

St. Cloud, Minn.

6:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Minnesota Duluth

Photo by: Maddie MacFarlane

9/10/2018 6:30:00 PM | Volleyball

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – Things could not have started off better for the St. Cloud State volleyball team. The Huskies are off to one of the best starts in recent history with their 6-2 overall record and 2-0 mark in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play. In fact, St. Cloud State is coming off a big weekend in which is swept the University of Minnesota-Crookston in its home opener on Thursday then took down Bemidji State University on the road in five.

On Tuesday, St. Cloud State looks to keep the good times rolling as it hosts the University of Minnesota-Duluth at 6:30 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall. The Bulldogs will be the first ranked opponent the Huskies will face all season, as the visitors are currently the No. 6 ranked team in Division II.

The match will also serve as Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night and St. Cloud State Swimming and Diving Strip Night. Tickets can be purchased now online at www.scsutickets.com.

Fans who cannot watch the game in person can follow along online via live stats and video. Score updates can also be found on the team's official Twitter page (@scsuhuskiesvb).

Here are the five things to know before the battle of the dogs:

3 – St. Cloud State teams will play Minnesota-Duluth a grand total of three times this week. The soccer team kicked things off on Sunday with its thrilling 2-1 overtime win over the Bulldogs thanks to two clutch goals from Hannah Marion (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / South St. Paul). Volleyball will be the second team to play Minnesota-Duluth this week, and football will close it out on Thursday at 6 p.m. when it hosts the Bulldogs in the Battle of the Bone.

4/11 – The match between the Huskies and UMD will feature two of the top setters in the conference in Emily and Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy). Yes, the two are sisters, no they are not twins, and yes, they both rank in the top-15 in the conference in multiple categories. Currently, Maddy Torve ranks 11^th in the NSIC in assists/set (9.38) and total assists (272) despite playing two less matches than every other setter in the conference. Emily is currently fourth with 11.67 assists/set and fifth in total assists (385).

6 – Thanks to their 8-2 overall and 2-0 record in NSIC play, the Bulldogs are currently ranked sixth in the nation in the latest AVCA poll. However, Minnesota-Duluth ranked as high as No. 1 at the beginning of the season but dropped to No. 6 after two consecutive losses to Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech. The Bulldogs are also one of five NSIC teams ranked in the AVCA's DII poll, as Northern State (2), Concordia-St. Paul (3), Southwest (7) and Wayne State (18) are also raned in the top-25.

2 – The Huskies enter Tuesday evening's match with a pristine 2-0 record in conference play thanks to victories over Minnesota-Crookston and Bemidji State last weekend. More impressively, St. Cloud State holds a 2-0 record in five-set matches this season thanks to its latest 3-2 (10-25, 25-14, 25-27, 25-15, 15-13) win over the Beavers on Saturday.

7 – Sophomore outside Erin Navratil (Albany, Minn. / Albany) was one of seven Huskies to record a career high last week. The sophomore led the offensive attack for St. Cloud State in its win over Bemidji State, tallying a career-high 18 kills in the victory. Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) and Taylor Olstad (Eagan, Minn. / Eagan) recorded career-highs in digs in the match with 17 and 12 respectively. Micah Nier (Hatley, Wis. / Wittenberg-Birnamwood), Halle Hughes (Mankato, Minn. / West), Clara Krenz (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul) and Rachel Houle (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) also tallied career-highs last week.