Huskies survive heat, Warriors to win NSIC opener

Friday, September 20

St. Cloud, Minn.

6 p.m.

St. Cloud State

8-0

Winona State

8-0

Winona St.

St. Cloud St.

Linsey Rachel celebrates a kill in the Huskies 3-1 win over (RV) Winona State

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

9/20/2019 8:58:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – Hot, sticky and humid is how a gym is supposed to feel in August, during the preseason for college volleyball teams. Not in mid-September.

On Friday, September 20, Halenbeck Hall was reminiscent of St. Cloud State volleyball's early preseason practices, as the muggy, humid weather settled on the players, coaches and fans who came out to watch the No. 19 Huskies take on (RV) Winona State University in their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) opener. Despite the less than ideal gym conditions, St. Cloud State prevailed, taking down Winona State 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-22) to improve to 9-0 on the season and 1-0 in NSIC play.

It wasn't necessarily the prettiest of wins the Huskies have experienced this season, but they were able to overcome a first set loss and take the match in four. After dropping the first set 25-22, St. Cloud State used strong serving and timely hitting to win the second 25-23. The Huskies did trail the Warriors early in the set and looked like they were about to fall behind two sets to one as the visitors jumped to an early 9-7 lead. I strong service run by junior setter Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) allowed St. Cloud State to tie things up at 9-9 before Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) took matters into her own hands. The sophomore outside gave the Huskies the lead 11-10 with an ace before helping the team take a 13-10 lead with more dominance behind the line.

The Warriors eventually stopped the bleeding, but an untimely service errors gave the ball right back to St. Cloud State and senior libero Clara Krenz (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul). Krenz went on a three point serving run of her own, putting the Huskies ahead by a seemingly large margin of 16-11.

Winona State was simply not going to give up in the set, as the Warriors slowly but surely chipped away at St. Cloud State's lead. The damage, though, had already been done by the Huskies, as a kill from Marah Mulso (Marshall, Minn. / Marshall) gave the team a 24-20 lead and five-point set point cushion en route to the 25-23 win.

With the match knotted at 1-1, St. Cloud State went ahead and won the third set 25-21 to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Rachel and Chloe Dousette (St. Paul, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) were unstoppable in the third, as they combined for 10 kills in the set and helped the Huskies hit over .300 as a team. Erin Navratil (Albany, Minn. / Albany) also played a huge role in St. Cloud State's offense, as her kill off the Winona State block won the set for the Huskies at 25-21.

Early in the fourth set, it looked like things might be headed to a fifth, as the scrappy Warriors jumped out to an early 4-2 lead. This time, it was serving by Rachel Houle (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) that helped St. Cloud State get back on track, as her tough serves forced Winona State out of system and allowed the Huskies to tie things up at 4-4.

From that point on, it was a pretty back-and-forth set, as St. Cloud State and the Warriors traded points until the 10-10 mark. Krenz then vaulted the Huskies to a 13-10 lead, with kills from Dousette and Navratil highlighting the run.

Still, Winona State fought back and tied things up at 13-13. Still, the visitors never were able to truly catch St. Cloud State. Though the Warriors tied things up and made a run at the Huskies in the late stages of the set, the deficit was too much to overcome, as St. Cloud State survived for the 25-22 win to take the match 3-1.

Rachel had the best offensive match of her career with the Huskies, as she recorded a career-high and team leading 23 kills and committed just five errors for a career-high hitting percentage of .400. Dousette and Navratil were both outstanding offensively as well, as they tallied 15 and 12 kills for St. Cloud State respectively.

Torve continued to pilot the Huskies offense, as she tallied 53 assists on the night, while Krenz recorded a team-leading 23 digs in the match.

With the win, St. Cloud State's overall record improved to 9-0 and it opens the season with a 1-0 record in NSIC play. The Huskies will continue their tough conference schedule on Saturday, when they face No. 25 Upper Iowa University at 2 p.m. in St. Cloud, Minnesota.