Volleyball prevails for 3-2 win over Upper Iowa, advances to NSIC Championship

Saturday, November 23

Sioux Falls, S.D.

7 p.m.

St. Cloud State

25-5,15-5NSIC

Upper Iowa

21-9,12-8NSIC

Upper Iowa

St. Cloud St.

Clara Krenz, Taylor Olstad and Rachel Houle celebrate a point in the Huskies 3-2 win over Upper Iowa.

Photo by: Jurgens Photography

Volleyball prevails for 3-2 win over Upper Iowa, advances to NSIC Championship

11/23/2019 10:18:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The St. Cloud State University volleyball team played the Upper Iowa University Peacocks two times during the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) regular season. Twice, the match went five sets, and twice the Huskies were victorious.

It was fitting, then, that St. Cloud State and Upper Iowa squared off in the semifinal round of the NSIC Tournament. Like the previous two matches, the third meeting between the Huskies and Peacocks certainly delivered. Once again, it went five set, and once again, St. Cloud State was victories, as the team prevailed for a 3-2 (27-25, 25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 15-10) win over Upper Iowa.

The Huskies were looking to take advantage of the tired Peacocks, and wasted no time jumping out to an early lead in the opening set. In fact, St. Cloud State was unstoppable in sets one and two, cruising to an early 2-0 lead in the match, though it certainly wasn't easy for the Huskies. In the opener, St. Cloud State opened with a 7-4 lead, as the team followed the same formula it has all season: serve tough, play good defense, and play smart offensively.

Upper Iowa managed to tie the set at 8-8, and the two teams traded points with neither really seeming to gain any momentum. With things knotted 23-23, the Peacocks took the 24-23 lead on a kill by Kaitlin Niedert but the Huskies fought off set point and tied it 24-24 with a kill of their own by Phebie Rossi (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens).

St. Cloud State was forced to fight off another set point, as Rossi's next attack went long to give Upper Iowa a 25-24 advantage. It was no big deal for the Huskies, as they tied it again with a block by Rossi and Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy). From there, St. Cloud State won the next three points, as the team won the set 27-25 on a kill by Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake).

The Huskies defense was completely dominant in the second set, as they cruised to a 25-17 win for a 2-0 lead in the match. Unfortunately, St. Cloud State hit a bit of a snag in the third set, as Upper Iowa jumped out to an early 13-8 lead on strong serving by defensive specialist Gabby Holmes. However, as they've done time and time again, the Huskies crawled their way back into the set multiple times, evening the set at 13-13 before a solo block by Marah Mulso (Marshall, Minn. / Marshall) helped St. Cloud State even things up again 20-20.

A third set win was not in the cards for the Huskies, as the Peacocks stole the second set 25-22 to cut the lead to 2-1 in the set. St. Cloud State then got off to a slow start in set four, as Upper Iowa jumped out to an early 8-2 lead with two aces, two blocks and a slew of Huskies errors. While the Huskies managed to tie it up at 8-8, the deficit was too much to overcome in the end, as the Peacocks forced the decisive fifth set with a 25-22 win in set four.

Despite the loss, St. Cloud State could not have asked for a better set up for set five. The team fought off five set points at the end of set four, seemingly swinging the momentum in the Huskies direction. Though Upper Iowa hung with St. Cloud State for the opening two points, the Huskies eventually ran away with the set, as a block from Erin Navratil (Albany, Minn. / Albany) and Rossi allowed the team to switch sides with an 8-4 advantage.

The Peacocks threatened to cut into St. Cloud State's lead several times, but serving errors proved costly for upstart Upper Iowa. After a serve by Holmes went long, the Huskies won three straight points to take a 12-7 lead, putting themselves in prime position to advance to the championship match on a kill by Rachel. The sophomore would eventually win the match for St. Cloud State, securing the set at 15-10 and allowing the Huskies to take the match 3-2 (27-25, 25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 15-10).

As a team, St. Cloud State played one of its best matches of the season, as it recorded 62 kills, four aces, a season-high 20 blocks and 100 digs in the five set effort. Leading the way for the Huskies was none other than Rachel, who recorded yet another double-double with a team and match-leading 25 kills to go along with her impressive 23 digs. Rossi was also a source of domination for St. Cloud State, as she recorded 13 kills and a career-high 13 block assists in the 3-2 victory.

Clara Krenz (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul) and Taylor Olstad (Eagan, Minn. / Eagan) continued to anchor the Huskies defense, as they combined for 50 of the team's 100 digs. Krenz led the way with 28 while Olstad wasn't far behind with 22 digs in the match.

Torve continued to pilot St. Cloud State's offense, tallying 55 assists and seven blocks of her own, including a solo block in the fifth set.

With the win, the Huskies overall record improves to 25-5 and they advance to the NSIC Championship match in their first appearance in the conference tournament. St. Cloud State will face a familiar foe in the championship, as #8 Concordia-St. Paul survived two five-setters to advance from the other side of the bracket. First serve is set for 3 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.