Volleyball’s season comes to an end in NCAA Regional

Thursday, December 5

Kearney, Neb.

5 p.m.

St. Cloud State

25-7

Northern State

25-5

St. Cloud State

Northern State

The Huskies celebrate Abby Templin and Phebie Rossi's block in the second set of the NCAA Regional.

Photo by: Kelsey Whaley

12/5/2019 7:52:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

KEARNEY, NEB. – The saying goes that all good things must eventually come to an end. Sadly, for the St. Cloud State University volleyball team, the end to a historic season came seemingly all-too soon in the opening round of the NCAA Regional. Though the Huskies left their hearts on the court, they were unable to leave Kearney, Nebraska with a victory, falling 3-0 (22-25, 23-25, 23-25) to Northern State University Thursday evening.

St. Cloud State did all it could to manage Northern State's top-notch offense, holding the Wolves to a .302 hitting percentage with 51 team digs and two team blocks. In fact, it was the Huskies that got off to a hot start in the match, as they as they jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the first set thanks to sophomore outside hitter Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake). The sophomore tallied two early kills and ace to help St. Cloud State open the NCAA Regionals on the right foot. Northern State, though, won seven of the ensuing 13 points to eventually take a 10-9 lead in the set.

The Huskies hung with the Wolves to the 12-12 mark before Northern State went on a five point run to take a 17-12 lead. A missed serve cut the deficit down to four points at 17-13, but it was too much for St. Cloud State to overcome, though the team did put together a furious rally at the end of the set. Down 20-14 late in the set, the Huskies rallied to cut lead to 22-18 before strong serves from Rachel helped the team whittle it down to 24-22.

The rally wasn't enough for the Huskies, as Northern State took the opener 25-22. Still, St. Cloud State was good enough to rally in the second, as the team proved often in set own. Again, the Huskies stuck with the Wolves point for point through the first 16, resulting in an 8-8 tie in the early stages. That was when St. Cloud State's serving game took over, as Rachel Houle's (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) tough serve forced the Wolves to commit three straight errors, resulting in an 11-8 win for the Huskies.

St. Cloud State continued to extend its lead as the set wore on, as kills from Marah Mulso (Marshall, Minn. / Marshall), an ace from Clara Krenz (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul) and blocks from Phebie Rossi (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens) and Abby Templin (Cold Spring, Minn. / ROCORI) boosted the team's lead to 19-15 late in the set.

Unfortunately, a set two win wasn't in the cards for the Huskies, as Northern State rallied to take the set 25-23. St. Cloud State's only hope to continue its season was to win three straight sets, including the decisive fifth, a set the Huskies just couldn't take against the Wolves in mid-October. It looked like St. Cloud State was well on its way to winning the third set, as the team jumped out to a 13-8 lead on a killer kill by Phebie Rossi (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens). The Huskies then continued to pull away from the Wolves, jumping ahead 15-11 and then 17-12 late in the set.

Northern State chose that moment to prove just how good it is offensively, as the Wolves rattled off four consecutive points before tying the set at 19-19. Northern State's defense was also the best it's been all season, as the Wolves libero Jaiden Langlie stole multiple kills from the Huskies top hitters, as did Northern State's block. Still, from that point on, the two times would simply trade blocks until the Wolves took a 24-22 lead over St. Cloud State, giving themselves two opportunities to win the match.

The Huskies battled in the final point of the match, as Rachel fought off the first match point with her team and match-leading 15^th kill of the evening. At 24-23, St. Cloud State just needed to battle off one more point to tie things up at 24-24 and force "extras" in the third. With Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) behind the service line, it seemed like a true possibility, as her serve seemed destined to find the floor. Sadly, that wasn't meant to be, as Laura Snyder pushed the ball through the Huskies block to clinch the match for Northern State 3-0 (22-25, 23-25, 23-25).

St. Cloud State was once again led by Rachel, as she concluded the match with 15 kills, 13 digs and four aces, adding to her already impressive double-double total. In her final match as a Husky, Krenz led the team defensively, closing the match with 15 digs and two aces. She also ends her career as the team's all-time leader in career digs and ranks second, third and sixth all-time in single-season digs.

Torve concludes her career-season with 32 assists on 110 attempts, while Rossi played a hand in both St. Cloud State's blocks Thursday night.

With the loss, the Huskies close the 2019 season with a 25-7 record and plenty to be proud of. St. Cloud State's 25 wins are the most for the program since 1995 and it records its best winning percentage since the 90s. The Huskies additionally qualified for the NSIC tournament for the first time in program history and made the NCAA Regional for the first time since 2004.