St. Cloud State
11-4,6-1NSIC
Minnesota State-Mankato
8-7,3-4NSIC
Volleyball rolls to 3-0 sweep of Minnesota State
10/2/2021 4:36:00 PM | Volleyball
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The St. Cloud State University volleyball team is back to its winning ways. Less than 24 hours after suffering their first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) loss of the season, the #16 Huskies stopped the losing streak before it could even start. Thanks to dominant play on both sides of the ball, St. Cloud State improved to 11-4 on the year and 6-1 in NSIC play with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-16) sweep of Minnesota State in Halenbeck Hall Saturday afternoon.
JUST SWEEPIN'
The Huskies were untouchable through the first half of the first set, as they cruised to a 17-10 lead over the Mavericks thanks to blistering offensive play at both the net and behind the service line. In fact, St. Cloud State tallied 11 kills in its first 17 points of the set and forced Minnesota State's hitters to commit five total errors, accounting for over half of the Huskies points scored. However, the Mavericks decided to make this interesting, as they rallied for a seven point serving run to tie the set at 17-17.
St. Cloud State put a stop to any thoughts of an upset, as kills from Kenzie Foley (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff-Luton), Allison Naughton (Des Moines, Iowa / Dowling Catholic) and Bella Erne (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) secured the 25-22 first set victory for the Huskies. The team then proceeded to lead the second set from start to finish, winning 25-21 thanks to a block by Foley and Phebie Rossi (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens).
With a 2-0 lead, St. Cloud State didn't waste any time putting Minnesota State away in the final set. Fueled by the strong serve of Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy), the Huskies took a 4-0 lead in the set and never looked back, jumping ahead 7-2 and then 20-10 late in the set. While the Mavericks were able to hold off two match points, they simply couldn't withstand the firepower of St. Cloud State, as a service error allowed the Huskies to win the set 25-16 and the match 3-0.
TOP HUSKIES
- Sophomore outside Kenzie Foley (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff-Luton) led the match with 11 kills and added 10 digs for a double-double.
- Abigail Groeneweg (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) recorded a team-leading 12 digs in the three-set effort, while Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) tallied 11 in the win.
- Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) put together a 33 assist afternoon for St. Cloud State, bringing her weekend total to 84 assists.
SWEET REVENGE
The Huskies avenged their 2019 loss to the Mavericks Saturday afternoon and is now 56-51 in 107 matches against Minnesota State. In the history of the program, St. Cloud State has only played one other team more than the Mavericks, and that would be none other than rival Minnesota-Duluth.
ONE LOSS WONDER
After the weekend, the Huskies NSIC record now stands at 6-1 with their lone loss coming at the hands of #4 Concordia-St. Paul Friday evening. It marks the best start to the conference season in the Chad Braegelmann era, and the team's 5-0 record in September is the best in program history (St. Cloud State lost one match in September in 2019, again at the hands of Concordia-St. Paul).
UP NEXT
Another road trip is on the horizon for the Huskies, as they travel to Fayette, Iowa for a showdown with Upper Iowa Friday, October 8. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Volleyball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
