Volleyball battles, falls to #11 Wayne State 3-0

Saturday, October 19

Wayne, Neb.

4 p.m.

St. Cloud State

15-4,11-0NSIC

Wayne State

15-4,9-0NSIC

St. Cloud St.

Wayne St. (NE)

St. Cloud State suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this 2019 season.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

10/19/2019 5:40:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – It was a tough weekend for the St. Cloud State University volleyball team. After suffering a 3-0 loss to Augustana University Friday evening, the nationally ranked Huskies were looking to rebound with a big win over #11 Wayne State College. Sadly for St. Cloud State, a victory wasn't in the cards Saturday afternoon, as the team fall to Wayne State 3-0 (20-25, 22-25, 19-25).

It was another hard-fought battle by the Huskies, particularly in the first and second sets. Like Friday night, though, St. Cloud State ran into issues on serve receive, as several mistakes proved costly in all three set losses. In the opener, the Huskies hung with the Wildcats for the opening points until a service run by Kelsie Cada resulted in an early 6-2 lead for Wayne State, forcing St. Cloud State head coach Chad Braeglemann to call and early time out.

After the early time out, the Huskies seemed to right the ship, cutting the Wildcats lead to 6-5 and eventually evening things up at 9-9. Uncostly errors, though, proved costly for St. Cloud State, as Wayne State went on a five-point run to take a 14-9 lead. After that, the Huskies were never able to recover, though they did make a run late in the set. Still, it wasn't enough, as the Wildcats took the opener by a score of 25-20.

St. Cloud State needed to climb an uphill battle in set two, as Wayne State wasted no time taking a 3-0 lead. The Huskies, though, were able to stop the bleeding and hang with the Wildcats, eventually tying the set at 6-6 on an ace by Taylor Olstad (Eagan, Minn. / Eagan). From there, St. Cloud State and Wayne State traded points until the Huskies took their first lead 10-8 on back-to-back kills by Phebie Rossi (Rapids City, S.D. / Stevens).

Though the Wildcats evened the score, St. Cloud State continued to hold its slim advantage over its host, winning every point out of a tie and eventually taking a 13-11 lead. It was then, though, that Wayne State went on another serving run of its own, winning five consecutive points to take a 16-13 lead.

Like in the first, the Huskies battled their way back into the match, pulling within two at 17-15. Again, though, the Wildcats serve proved to be too dominant, as the host team eventually went ahead 24-18 on an ace of their own. St. Cloud State, though, showed resiliency and tenacity, as the team fought off five set points to cut the lead to 24-22. Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) was key to the Huskies run, both from behind the service line, defensively and offensively, as her strong serves kept Wayne State off balance and out of system. The Wildcats eventually did manage a perfect pass, though, ending Rachel's run and the set with a kill by Jaci Brahmer.

After the 25-22 loss, St. Cloud State knew it had to rebound with a win in the third to force a fourth and hopefully fifth set. Again, that simply wasn't in the cards for the Huskies, as they fell in the third 25-19 to drop the match 3-0.

Rossi was once again a force to be reckoned with, as she hit .500 thanks to 12 kills and just one error. Rachel and Marah Mulso (Marshall, Minn. / Marshall) each ended the match with six kills while Chloe Dousette (St. Paul, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) was right behind with five.

Clara Krenz (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul) continued her defensive dominance, as she ended the match with a team-leading 22 digs while Rachel added 14.

With the loss, St. Cloud State's overall record falls to 15-4 and the team is now 7-4 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play. The Huskies will return to action this weekend when they host two nationally ranked teams in Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls.