Volleyball to host MSU, CSP in final home matches of regular season

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – The time has come.

After three months, 24 matches, an insurmountable amount of practices, interviews and stories, the St. Cloud State University volleyball team will play its final home matches of the regular season.

The Huskies have had quite the season so far, and it's certainly not about to get any easier. With four matches remaining on the schedule, St. Cloud State looks to solidify its place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) standings and earns its first conference tournament bid since rejoining the NSIC in 2008. Standing in the Huskies way is none other than (RV) Minnesota State University – Mankato and #6 Concordia-St. Paul, both of which are looking to cemented their spots in the NSIC standings as well.

First serve for Friday's match against the Mavericks is set for 6 p.m., while St. Cloud State will square off against the Golden Bears at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 9. The Huskies will also honor their alumni and four seniors before and during the match on Saturday, as it will be the last regular season match they play in the comforts of Halenbeck Hall.

Live stats and video will be available for fans who can't watch the matches in person, and score updates will be posted to the team's official Twitter page (@SCSUhuskies_vb).

Here are the five things to before this weekend's NSIC matches:

11-1 – St. Cloud State has been virtually unbeatable at home this season, compiling an 11-1 record in matches played at Halenbeck Hall. The team's one loss came at the hands of then No. 8 Northern State in five sets.

4 – The Huskies four seniors, Abby Templin (Cold Spring, Minn. / ROCORI), Halle Hughes (Mankato, Minn. / Mankato West), Clara Krenz (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul) and Marah Mulso (Marshall, Minn. / Marshall) have all found significant amounts of success on the court. Off the court, they've been just as successful as all four are two-time Academic All-Conference honorees. They've also helped St. Cloud State earn three consecutive team academic awards from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and have been nominated for CoSIDA's Academic All-District honors at least one in their respective careers.

6/8 – For the first time in, well, forever, the Huskies and Golden Bears will both be ranked in the top-10 when they square off at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Thanks to wins over Minnesota-Duluth and Bemidji State last weekend, St. Cloud State leaped from No. 11 to No. 8 in the latest AVCA Division II Top-25 Coaches Poll, while Concordia-St. Paul remained in the top-10, moving one spot from No. 7 to No. 6.

6 – The Huskies and Golden Bears were also one of six teams from the NSIC featured in the NCAA Central Region Rankings this week. Thanks to a 19-4 overall record and 15-3 mark versus region opponents, Concordia-St. Paul earned the No. 3 ranking in the initial regional rankings while St. Cloud State came in at No. 5 with an overall ranking of 19-4 and a 14-4 mark in regional play (the team's Tuesday wins over Minnesota-Crookston and Winona State were not taken into account for these initial rankings).

4.61 – Before the Huskies can focus on the Golden Bears, they must first get past the Mavericks, whom they host at 6 p.m. Friday evening. While Minnesota State has had a relatively disappointing season with an overall record of 15-9 and an 8-8 mark in conference play, it still boasts one of the top hitters in the NSIC in Morgan Olson. In fact, Olson currently leads the NSIC in kills per set average (4.61) against conference opponents and has racked up 249 kills in NSIC play alone. She also led the Mavericks in kills the last time they faced St. Cloud State, though the Huskies came out on top and earned a 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-14) sweep.

Volleyball to host MSU, CSP in final home matches of regular season

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Players Mentioned

Halle Hughes

Clara Krenz

Marah Mulso

Abby Templin

Saint Cloud State University Athletics