Thursday, September 5
St. George, Utah
7 p.m. MTN
St. Cloud State
at
Dixie State
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Volleyball opens season at Dixie State tournament
9/4/2019 1:43:00 PM | Volleyball
ST. CLOUD, MINN. – The St. Cloud State University volleyball team is once again heading west to open its season. This time, though, the Huskies are staying a bit more inland, hoping to avoid hurricanes and spend a little more time playing volleyball as they partake in the Dixie State Tournament in St. George, Utah.
St. Cloud State will officially open the season on Thursday, September 5 when the team takes on host Dixie State University at 7 p.m. MTN. The Huskies will then play two matches Saturday against Northwest Nazarene University (1 p.m. MTN) and Colorado Christian University (5 p.m. MTN) before closing the tournament with a morning match against Simon Fraser University on Saturday.
As mentioned earlier, this is the second consecutive season St. Cloud State has traveled west for a season-opening tournament, as the team opened the season in Hawaii in 2018. Fans of the Huskies may remember that, the same week the team was in Hawaii, the island was hit by Hurricane Lane, the first hurricane to actually make landfall in Hawaii in 15 years.
Fans can follow St. Cloud State's volleyball matches via live stats provided by Dixie State. Score updates will also be posted on the team's official Twitter page (@SCSUhuskies_vb).
Here are the five things to know before the Huskies open the season in Utah:
2 – St. Cloud State lost just two seniors to graduation after a fantastic 2018 season, in which the team recorded its best overall (15-11) and NSIC (11-9) record since joining the conference in 2008. This means the Huskies core nucleus returns for 2019, including reigning NSIC Libero of the Year Clara Krenz (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul) and NSIC Freshman of the Year Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake). In addition to those two, setter Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy), middle blocker Marah Mulso (Marshall, Minn. / Marshall), outside Abby Templin (Cold Spring, Minn. / ROCORI) and defensive specialist Taylor Olstad (Eagan, Minn. / Eagan) return after starting for St. Cloud State in 2018.
8 – The Huskies were pegged to finish eighth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, the highest preseason ranking they've received in program history. Of course, St. Cloud State was just one win away from making its first appearance in the conference tournament last season and looks to propel itself into the playoff race with another strong season in 2019.
1562 – Krenz is just a few digs shy of making history, as she enters the season ranked third all-time in career digs and is just 367 away from breaking Brianne Stamer's record of 1929. On average, the senior libero has averaged an impressive 520.6 digs per season, meaning she is on pace to break Stamer's record early in the final season of her career.
10 – Krenz was not the only Husky ranked in the top-10 in program history at the end of 2018. Torve etched her name as No. 10 all-time in career assists with 1517 to her name. The now-junior was just eight assists shy of becoming the first Husky to record 1000+ assists in a single season since Jennifer waterman recorded 1326 as a sophomore in 2008.
1st – No, we did not forget about Linsey Rachel, perhaps the Huskies best offensive returner. As a first year, Rachel became the first player in program history to earn NSIC and AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year honors in addition to being named Second Team All-Conference. As a first year, Rachel led the team in multiple statistical categories and broke the program record for first year kills with 352. She was also the highest-ranking freshman in kills, kills per set, digs and digs per set in the NSIC and ranked top-10 overall in kills and kills per set.
Bonus number
5 – Five first years could help the Huskies repeat with NSIC Freshman of the Year honors. Hitters Gabby Johnson (Plover, Wis. / Stevens Point Area), Phebie Rossi (Rapids, S.D. / Stevens) and Abigail Groeneweg (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) look to make a big impact for St. Cloud State, while defensive specialist Kobie Dills (Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Cedar Rapids) looks to solidify the Huskies already outstanding backrow defense. Brynn Heinonen (Delano, Minn. / Delano) also looks to contribute as a setter, potentially allowing St. Cloud State to run a 6-2 system during the season.
St. Cloud State will officially open the season on Thursday, September 5 when the team takes on host Dixie State University at 7 p.m. MTN. The Huskies will then play two matches Saturday against Northwest Nazarene University (1 p.m. MTN) and Colorado Christian University (5 p.m. MTN) before closing the tournament with a morning match against Simon Fraser University on Saturday.
As mentioned earlier, this is the second consecutive season St. Cloud State has traveled west for a season-opening tournament, as the team opened the season in Hawaii in 2018. Fans of the Huskies may remember that, the same week the team was in Hawaii, the island was hit by Hurricane Lane, the first hurricane to actually make landfall in Hawaii in 15 years.
Fans can follow St. Cloud State's volleyball matches via live stats provided by Dixie State. Score updates will also be posted on the team's official Twitter page (@SCSUhuskies_vb).
Here are the five things to know before the Huskies open the season in Utah:
2 – St. Cloud State lost just two seniors to graduation after a fantastic 2018 season, in which the team recorded its best overall (15-11) and NSIC (11-9) record since joining the conference in 2008. This means the Huskies core nucleus returns for 2019, including reigning NSIC Libero of the Year Clara Krenz (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul) and NSIC Freshman of the Year Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake). In addition to those two, setter Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy), middle blocker Marah Mulso (Marshall, Minn. / Marshall), outside Abby Templin (Cold Spring, Minn. / ROCORI) and defensive specialist Taylor Olstad (Eagan, Minn. / Eagan) return after starting for St. Cloud State in 2018.
8 – The Huskies were pegged to finish eighth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, the highest preseason ranking they've received in program history. Of course, St. Cloud State was just one win away from making its first appearance in the conference tournament last season and looks to propel itself into the playoff race with another strong season in 2019.
1562 – Krenz is just a few digs shy of making history, as she enters the season ranked third all-time in career digs and is just 367 away from breaking Brianne Stamer's record of 1929. On average, the senior libero has averaged an impressive 520.6 digs per season, meaning she is on pace to break Stamer's record early in the final season of her career.
10 – Krenz was not the only Husky ranked in the top-10 in program history at the end of 2018. Torve etched her name as No. 10 all-time in career assists with 1517 to her name. The now-junior was just eight assists shy of becoming the first Husky to record 1000+ assists in a single season since Jennifer waterman recorded 1326 as a sophomore in 2008.
1st – No, we did not forget about Linsey Rachel, perhaps the Huskies best offensive returner. As a first year, Rachel became the first player in program history to earn NSIC and AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year honors in addition to being named Second Team All-Conference. As a first year, Rachel led the team in multiple statistical categories and broke the program record for first year kills with 352. She was also the highest-ranking freshman in kills, kills per set, digs and digs per set in the NSIC and ranked top-10 overall in kills and kills per set.
Bonus number
5 – Five first years could help the Huskies repeat with NSIC Freshman of the Year honors. Hitters Gabby Johnson (Plover, Wis. / Stevens Point Area), Phebie Rossi (Rapids, S.D. / Stevens) and Abigail Groeneweg (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) look to make a big impact for St. Cloud State, while defensive specialist Kobie Dills (Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Cedar Rapids) looks to solidify the Huskies already outstanding backrow defense. Brynn Heinonen (Delano, Minn. / Delano) also looks to contribute as a setter, potentially allowing St. Cloud State to run a 6-2 system during the season.
Players Mentioned
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