Volleyball caps off weekend with 3-1 win at Mary

Saturday, October 5

Bismarck, N.D.

2 p.m.

St. Cloud State

12-1

Mary

1-13

St. Cloud St.

Mary

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

10/5/2019 6:04:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BISMARCK, N.D. – The St. Cloud State University volleyball team continued its weekly tear through its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) opponents. After a resounding win over Minot State University of Friday, St. Cloud State concluded its North Dakota road trip with yet another NSIC victory, taking down the University of Mary 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-13, 25-12) in Bismarck, North Dakota.

The Huskies were absolutely dominant in their three individual set wins, particularly the third and fourth sets. For the first time since starting the NSIC season, St. Cloud State hit .269 as a team, compiling an impressive 58 kills while committing just 19 errors over the course of the match. Meanwhile, the Huskies defense once again was absolutely stifling, as they tallied 80 digs compared to Marauders 60 and held their hosts to a .073 hitting percentage during the match.

St. Cloud State wasted no time setting the tone in the first set, as the team jumped out to am 11-5 lead and dominated on its way to a 25-17 win. However, the Huskies hit a bit of a snag in the second set, as UMary's scrappy play helped the home team eke out a 25-23 win to even things at one set apiece.

After dropping the second set, it was all St. Cloud State all the time in the third and fourth, as the Huskies made statement after statement to win both and take the match 3-1. In fact, early in the third, it looked like the Marauders might find a way to hang with #12 St. Cloud State, as they tied things up at 2-2 before cutting the lead to 5-4 with back-to-back kills. The Huskies, though, wasted no time quieting any sort of rally UMary was trying to conjure, first with a kill from Erin Navratil (Albany, Minn. / Albany) then an ace from Rachel Houle (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) to jump start a 5-0 scoring run.

The Marauders did manage to stop the bleeding, but they were no match for St. Cloud State's offense, as the team cruised to a 21-11 lead and 25-13 win in the set. That pretty much set the tone for the fourth, as again, the Huskies dominated in every facet of the game. Thanks to strong serving from Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) and a kill and two blocks by Halle Hughes (Mankato, Minn. / Mankato West), St. Cloud State won four consecutive points to open the set, taking a 4-0 lead it would never relinquish.

UMary tried to make things interesting, eventually whittling the lead to 5-4 with an ace of its own, but it was the closest the Marauders would come to even touching the Huskies lead in the final set. In fact, after UMary cut the lead to one, St. Cloud State went on another five-point serving run, extending the lead to 11-4 before running away with the match on a serving run by Clara Krenz (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul). Thanks to Krenz and Company, the Huskies took a 19-9 lead, allowing Marah Mulso (Marshall, Minn. / Marshall) and Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) sealed the 25-12 victory with a block.

Rachel was the team's top offensive player, as she recorded a team and match leading 12 kills with 17 digs for her eleventh double-double of the season. Mulso was close behind with 10 kills from the middle and also contributed a team-leading three blocks in the match.

Torve guided the team to its .269 hitting percentage, tallying 49 assists in the match to go with three kills and six blocks.

Krenz was a stud defensively, tallying 26 digs in the match with zero reception errors as the team's starting libero. Junior defensive specialist Taylor Olstad (Eagan, Minn./ Eagan) added 12 digs while Houle recorded 10.

Thanks to the win, St. Cloud State's overall record improves to 13-1 and the team is 5-1 in NSIC play. The Huskies will return home for their next conference match, as they host MSU-Moorhead on Friday, October 11 at 6 p.m. in St. Cloud, Minnesota.