Volleyball comes up short in 3-2 loss to #7 CSP

Saturday, September 28

St. Paul, Minn.

1 p.m.

St. Cloud State

11-1

Concordia-St. Paul

8-3

St. Cloud St.

Concordia-St. Paul

Linsey Rachel recorded her third 20+ kill match of the season and tenth double-double.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

9/28/2019 5:12:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

ST. PAUL, MINN. – All good things must come to an end, even for the St. Cloud State University volleyball team.

In what was the toughest match of the season thus far, St. Cloud State pushed #7 Concordia-St. Paul University to the brink, nearly beating the nationally ranked powerhouse for the first time in program history. Sadly, a win was not in the cards for the Huskies, as they fell on the road to the Golden Bears 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 12-15).

St. Cloud State and Concordia-St. Paul proved to be two of the most evenly matched teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) this season, as the two teams matched each other point for point throughout the match. The Huskies stayed with the Golden Bears through the first 14 point of the first set, evening things up at 6-6 and taking an 8-6 lead with kills from Erin Navratil (Albany, Minn. / Albany) and Chloe Dousette (St. Paul, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall).

Things derailed for St. Cloud State shortly after, as Concordia-St. Paul took a 12-8 lead thanks to strong serves from Payton Nutter. Though the Huskies would cut into the lead, they were never able to recover, as they fell in the opener by a final score of 25-22.

St. Cloud State rallied for a big win in set two, as the team came back to even the match at one set a apiece with a 25-22 second set win. A long serving run from Taylor Olstad (Eagan, Minn. / Eagan) helped the Huskies efforts, as strong serving from the junior defensive specialist helped St. Cloud State take an early 11-5 lead over the Golden Bears.

Concordia-St. Paul cut the lead to 11-7, but the Huskies essentially put the set away with a five-point serving run by Clara Krenz (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul). The senior libero helped St. Cloud State jump to an impressive 16-7 lead, which seemed pretty decisive at the time. However, the Golden Bears showed why they are always ranked in the top-10, as they whittled the Huskies lead to 21-19 late in the set. That was the closest Concordia-St. Paul would come, as St. Cloud State went on to win 25-22.

A win in the third set allowed the Huskies to take a 2-1 advantage in the set, the first time they've had any lead over the Golden Bears in 26 career meetings. Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) played a huge role in the 25-21 victory, as she recorded nine kills and zero errors in the set. The sophomore outside hitter also recorded two block assists in the third set, helping St. Cloud State take the lead in the match.

It looked like the Huskies were destined for yet another "W" on the record, as they jumped out to an 11-5 lead on a serving run by Abigail Groeneweg (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake). Concordia-St. Paul once again reared its head, as the home team came back to tie things at 12-12. From there, St. Cloud State and the Golden Bears traded points until everything was knotted up 23-23. Sadly, Concordia-St. Paul won the next two points and the set, forcing the decisive fifth set with a 25-23 fourth set win.

The Huskies tried valiantly to complete the comeback with a fifth set win, but it wasn't meant to be, as the Golden Bears took the set 15-12 and the match 3-2. Still, there was plenty for St. Cloud State to hang its hat on, as the team was neck-and-neck with Concordia-St. Paul in every statistical category.

Leading the way offensively for the Huskies was Rachel, who finished the match with 25 kills and 10 digs for yet another double-double. Navratil ended the match with 10 kills while Marah Mulso (Marshall, Minn. / Marshall) and Phebie Rossi (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens) finished with nine kills each from the middle.

Krenz was gold for St. Cloud State defensively, as she finished the match with a team-leading 29 digs, while Rachel Houle (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) finished the match with a career-high 15 digs.

With the loss, the Huskies suffer both their first overall and NSIC loss, as their record is now 11-1 and they have a 3-1 mark in NSIC play. St. Cloud State will return to action in the month of October, when the team travels to North Dakota for two NSIC matches against Minot State and Mary.