Volleyball stays perfect with 3-1 win over Simon Fraser

Saturday, September 7

St. George, Utah

9 a.m. MTN

St. Cloud State

4-0

Simon Fraser

1-2

Simon Fraser

St. Cloud State

Maddy Torve tallied a season-high 51 assists in the Huskies four-set win over Simon Fraser Saturday morning.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

9/7/2019 1:45:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

ST. GEORGE, UTAH – It's been a while since the St. Cloud State Unviersity volleyball team has been perfect to start any given season.

Two years to be exact.

The last time the Huskies started the year with a 4-0 record, Thanos hadn't wiped out half the world population in Avengers Infinity War. Thanks to a 3-1 (28-26, 25-26, 25-27, 25-12) victory over Simon Fraser University Saturday morning, St. Cloud State can claim its second perfect start in three season, though the team's streak of consecutive sets without a loss did end at 17.

Like Friday, the Huskies won another close first set, setting the tone for the remaining match. St. Cloud State took set one 28-26 despite falling behind 6-1 in the early onset. Once again showing their tenacity, the Huskies chipped away at the Simon Fraser lead, sure to not let history repeat itself. In 2018, St. Cloud State was swept in straight sets by by Simon Fraser at Hawaii-Hilo's season opening tournament.

In 2019, it was a different team, different story. Despite trailing 20-13, St. Cloud State rallied for a six-point run on Taylor Olstad's serve to cut the lead to 20-19. Then, the Huskies took their first lead of the match, as tough serving from first year Abigail Groeneweg (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) forces three-straight hitting errors from Simon Fraser to take its first lead of the set at 23-21.

St. Cloud State was unable to close out the match, despite holding a 24-22 advantage late in the set. However, the Huskies were able to hold off two Simon Fraser match points, as a service ace from Clara Krenz (Oakdale, Minn. / North St. Paul) sealed the team's victory at 28-26.

St. Cloud State dominated in set two, as the team jumped ahead to a 4-0 lead thanks to dominant serving from Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) and two kills from first year middle blocker Phebie Rossi (Rogers, S.D. / Stevens). That set the tone for the remainder of the set, as the Huskies cruised to an easy 25-16 victory, and looked for its fourth consecutive straight-sets victory of the season.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Simon Fraser forced a fourth set with a 27-25 win in set three. Though it managed to slow down St. Cloud State's offense, it wasn't enough to stop the team from winning, as the Huskies took the fourth set by a final score of 25-12.

Rachel was a force of nature for St. Cloud State, as she led the team in kills (16) and digs (25), tallying her third double-double in four matches this season. Rossi tied her career-high with 12 kills out of the middle, while redshirt-junior Chloe Dousette (St. Paul, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) impressed in her Husky debut with 10 kills.

Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) piloted the St. Cloud State offense, as she racked up 51 assists in the victory, one shy of tying her career high, while Krenz finished the match with 18 digs.

With the win, the Huskies open the season with a perfect 4-0 record for the first time since 2017. St. Cloud State will put its perfect record on the weekend next weekend as it hosts the Best Western Kelly Inn Huskies Volleyball Classic September 12-14 at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, Minnesota.