Maddy Torve (left) and Emily (Torve) Balts (right) racked up 40+ assists in Thursday's match, solidifying their status as two of the top setters in the NSIC.
Maddy and Emily: The Torve Sister Act
11/1/2019 2:20:00 PM | Volleyball
Share:
By: Kelsey Whaley, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications
ST. CLOUD, MINN. – If you attended the St. Cloud State University volleyball match against the University of Minnesota-Duluth Thursday evening, you probably thought you were seeing double. Or that junior setter Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) transferred to play for the Huskies rival. Maddy Torve (14) and Phebie Rossi (12)
celebrate a block in the Huskies 3-1
win over #3 UMD.
She didn't. Torve is still very much a part of St. Cloud State volleyball. As the team's starting setter, she's guided the Huskies to their first American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) top-25 ranking since the mid-90s and 17+ win season since 2004, all while putting up career numbers in the process. Entering Thursday's match, Torve ranked fifth in the nation in assists/set average at 11.96 and racked up 885 assists in 21 matches.
"It's been a lot of fun to watch Maddy mature and grow this season," St. Cloud State head volleyball coach Chad Braeglemann said of Torve and her rise up the rankings. "Her defensive skills, ability to get to the second ball and overall athleticism have improved. She's gotten better and stronger this season. She takes coaching in and she's been great to work with."
You weren't crazy, though, if you thought you were seeing double. Torve's sister Emily Balts captains the #3 Bulldogs and serves as the team's starting setter, a role she's held since her freshman season in 2016.
Oh, and she also ranks in the top-5 in the nation in assists/set.
"When we're on the court, we're not sisters," Torve said of playing against Balts, who got married this past summer and currently ranks second in Division II with a 12.14 assists/set average. "As the rivalry between us and Duluth has intensified, we've become opponents on the court, but off we are definitely friends."
Friends and sisters off the court, competitors on, there are plenty of reasons for fans to think they've seen double, something Torve admits happens frequently. Not only do they look very similar, but they are also two of the top setters in both the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and Division II. And, while Torve is four inches taller than Balts at 5'11, a fact she likes to remind her sister of often, their on-court presence and mannerisms are enough to make anyone do a doubletake.
"Their court demeanors are very similar," commented Braeglemann. "Maddy [Torve] is a little taller as a setter and Emily [Balts] may be a little quicker on the court, but the way they carry themselves is very similar."
How did these two get here though? How did Maddy Torve and Emily Balts become two of the top setters in the NSIC and nation? It wasn't necessarily something anyone could predict. Torve and Balts inherited two very different situations when they arrived on their respective campuses, as Balts took over a perennial volleyball power, while Torve joined a program that historically ranked at the bottom of the NSIC standings.
"[Balts] redshirted her first year and joined a team consistently ranked in the top-five or top-ten in the nation," said Braeglemann. "She was able to learn under another setter and take over a program that has had a lot of success her sophomore through senior seasons."
There was no way the sisters could play with each other either. After years of serving as teammates at Heritage Christian Academy, Balts and Torve would be opponents for the first time in their careers, as they only ever played against each other in scrimmages during their club seasons with the Northern Lights.
"I didn't even look at Duluth," Torve said when explaining her choice to play for the Huskies. "[Balts] and I are two years apart in school and there's an 18-month difference in age. Because we play the same position, we knew we couldn't play together in college."
Emily (Torve) Balts comes up with
a solo block for the Bulldogs in a
September win over Lake Superior State.
So, while Balts took a year to sit and learn, Torve received a crash course in college volleyball with the Huskies. As a freshman, she was one of two setters in a 6-2 system, meaning she only played three back row rotations before being subbed out for a hitter to play the front. That season, she tallied 525 assists, averaging 4.91 a set, while St. Cloud State posted a 16-14 record with an 8-12 mark in NSIC play, the team's best overall and conference record since the early 2000s.
"Early on we asked [Torve] to play as a freshman after suffering a pretty big ankle injury in her club season," explained Braeglemann. "We were also asking her to work with a team that went 8-12 in NSIC play. Right away, the expectation, the ability to ease into [college volleyball] was different than of [Balts] at UMD."
Since then, Torve has rose to the occasion and the expectations placed on her that freshman season. In two and a half seasons, she's caught up with her older sister, both in the stat sheet and regarding team records. While Balts has complied over 5000 assists in her career with the Bulldogs, Torve eclipsed the 2000 career mark earlier this season, becoming just the eighth Husky in program history to reach the mark. She's also helped St. Cloud State become the young, scrappy upstart team no one wants to play. For the first time since 1996, the Huskies have been nationally ranked for seven consecutive weeks, while the Bulldogs have not been unranked in nearly two seasons.
"We're still the underdog," Torve stated in an interview. "We're ranked now, which means we have a target on our back. People want to beat us, but we are still the underdog against a lot of teams in the NSIC, like Duluth."
The offenses Balts and Torve run are evenly stacked, as both Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud State rank in the top-5 in the nation in three different offensive categories. As of October 31, the Bulldogs led the country in team kills per set average (15.11) and assists per set (14.14), while the Huskies ranked fifth in assists per set (13.49) and fourth in team attacks per set with an average of 40.14.
"The growth of our program between when Maddy got here three years ago to now is tremendous," Braeglemann said. "I think we've improved in every statistical category, and when you put up good numbers, it's easier to be successful."
Still, while the numbers and statistical rankings are fun to talk about, what happens on the court is what truly matters to Torve and Balts. In the previous four matches dating back to 2017, Balts and Minnesota-Duluth are 3-1 against Torve and St. Cloud State; however, the Huskies rise up the conference and national rankings can be traced back to their win over the Bulldogs last season. In September, a then unranked St. Cloud State team upset #6 Minnesota-Duluth for the first time since 1985, earning a key 3-0 sweep to open the conference season with a perfect 1-0 record.
"The Duluth match means a lot for everyone," Torve said before Thursday's match. "They are always nationally ranked and always near or at the top of the conference, so everyone is hyped and excited to beat them. But for me, it means just a little bit more because it is my sister and there are bragging rights involved."
In what could be the final career meeting between Torve and Balts, it was the younger sister that was victorious, as the #11 Huskies downed the #3 Bulldogs 3-1 to improve to 18-4 overall with a 10-4 mark in NSIC play. However, while winning, especially against Minnesota-Duluth, is always a highlight of the season, it was a bittersweet moment for Torve, knowing it might be the last time she sees her sister across the net.
"It's sad knowing it could be the last one," Torve admitted. "Next year, [Minnesota-Duluth] will be a completely different team without [Balts] and the rest of the senior class, but that doesn't take anything away from the match. It's always fun to beat the Bulldogs."
