Huskies drop three-setter to Wayne State

Friday, September 28

St. Cloud, Minn.

6 p.m.

St. Cloud State

9-5, 5-3NSIC

Wayne State

13-4, 5-3NSIC

Wayne State (NE)

St. Cloud State

Linsey Rachel led the team in kills for the twelfth time this season with 15 against the Wildcats.

Photo by: Kelsey Whaley

9/28/2018 8:43:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – It is no secret that the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) is one of the top conferences for college volleyball in the nation. It's also no secret that the St. Cloud State University Huskies are one of the upstart teams in the conference this 2018 season, with some key wins over the projected top teams. Unfortunately, St. Cloud State suffered a small set back Friday evening, dropping its third-consecutive conference match, this time to (RV) Wayne State College in straight sets 3-0 (20-25, 19-25, 19-25).

The Huskies own errors did them in against the Wildcats, who dropped out of the American Volleyball Coaches (AVCA) top-25 poll this week but still received 91 votes from coaches. In fact, St. Cloud State compiled more kills (39) than the visitors (34) but also recorded more attack errors (24-8) and serving errors (7-3) than Wayne State, resulting in several unforced errors at key points in the match.

However, things were looking good for the Huskies at the start of the first set, as they hung with the Wildcats and even led through the early stages of the set. Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) once again set the tone for St. Cloud State, tallying three kills early in the set to help the team take a 10-7 lead. Taylor Olstad (Eagan, Minn. / Eagan) also aided in the run, as her pesky serve forced Wayne State out of system and helped set up back-to-back kills by Rachel.

Unfortunately, the wheels started to unravel after Micah Nier's (Hatley, Wis. / Wittenberg-Birnamwood) kill gave the Huskies a three-point lead. The Wildcats went on a three-point serving run of their own, evening the match at 10-10 with back-to-back blocks on Rachel and Marah Mulso (Marshall, Minn. / Marshall). St. Cloud State did manage to stop the bleeding and won five of the next eight point to take what seemed to be a commanding 15-13 lead.

The 15^th point was the last the Huskies would score for a while though, as Wayne State won six consecutive points after a missed serve by Clara Krenz (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul). The Wildcats took advantage of a bad rotation for St. Cloud State, as Morgan Alexander's tough serve forced the Huskies out of system, which either led to a Wayne State kill or an error by St. Cloud State. By the time the Huskies put a stop to the run it was already too late, as the Wildcats went on to take the opener 25-20.

The second set did not get off to the greatest start for St. Cloud State, as the team fell behind 10-2 after winning the opening point on Rachel's fifth kill of the match. However, the Huskies did show fight and determination, despite being down 15-5 midway through the match. In fact, St. Cloud State managed to cut the deficit to 23-19 thanks to strong setting from first year Madison Hucky (Waconia, Minn. / Mayer Lutheran). The first-year setter came off the bench and helped the Huskies win five of eight points to cut the lead to 20-13. Then, Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) returned to help cut the lead to 23-19 with a serving run and key distribution from the right back position.

Unfortunately, an offensive miscue ended the run for St. Cloud State and resulted in the 25-19 second set victory by Wayne State. After the four minute intermission, however, the Huskies returned to the court looking like an entirely new team, as they led and dominated through the early stages of the third set. In fact, St. Cloud State looked like it was fully capable of forcing and fourth and fifth set in the match, as an ace from Torve and kills from Rachel and Allison Naughton (Des Moines, Iowa / Dowling Catholic) helped the Huskies just ahead 11-8.

Another bad rotation on serve receive and costly unforced errors allowed the Wildcats to get back in the match and eventually take a 16-13 lead. While St. Cloud State again tried to claw its way out, the hole was too great, as Wayne State went on to win the third set 25-19 and take the match 3-0.

Not surprisingly, Rachel was the team's top offensive weapon, garnering a team-leading 15 kills with nine digs to account for 15 of the team's point total. Krenz was stellar defensively for the Huskies with her team-leading 17 digs, including a season-high eight in the opening set. Olstad added 16 digs, while Torve tallied 27 assists and three aces.

With the loss, St. Cloud State's overall record falls to 9-5 and the team is 5-3 in NSIC play. The Huskies will return to the court on Saturday when they host Augustana at 2 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall.