St. Cloud State
16-4,11-1NSIC
Northern State
12-8,7-5NSIC
Huskies rally to beat (RV) Northern State 3-2
10/22/2021 9:35:00 PM | Volleyball
Kenzie Foley, Linsey Rachel dominant en route to victory
ABERDEEN, S.D. – The weather may be cooling, but the St. Cloud State University volleyball team is hot as the summer sun on blacktop. The #13 Huskies earned their 11th win in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play in dramatic fashion Friday evening, rallying to beat (RV) Northern State University for a 3-2 (17-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 15-11) road win. Thanks to the victory, St. Cloud State is now 16-4 overall with an 11-1 mark in NSIC play.
GO THE DISTANCE
Since head coach Chad Braegelmann took over in 2015, the Huskies and Wolves have played in some entertaining matches, especially in the last two seasons. However, St. Cloud State was never able to come away with a victory. Friday night, it looked like that could be the case, as Northern State took an early 1-0 lead in the match after a 25-17 win in the first set.
After looking all out of sorts in the opener, the Huskies settled down in the second, claiming the 25-22 victory on an attack error by the Wolves to even the match at 1-1. From there, it looked like the momentum swung in St. Cloud State's direction, as the Huskies jumped out to an early 12-8 in the third by dominating every facet of the game.
Northern State, though, put together a rally of its own, winning seven of the next nine points to tie the match at 14-14 before jumping out to an 18-15 advantage. Though St. Cloud State cut the lead to two late in the set, it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit, as the Wolves won the set 25-23 for a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Huskies found another gear in the fourth, trading points with Northern State and biding their time for the kill. With the set tied 14-14, Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) went on a five point serving run to give St. Cloud State a 19-14 advantage. At that point, the Huskies grabbed the lead and never looked back, winning the fourth set 25-22 to force the decisive fifth.
Like in the other sets, the Huskies needed to dig deep and find themselves, as they fell behind 3-0 to start the fifth. Again, though, St. Cloud State chipped away, tying the set 3-3 before falling behind 8-5. At that moment, Kenzie Foley (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff-Luton) became the X factor for the Huskies. Her swings were lethal and undiggable, as she secured the 15-11 win with her 27th kill of the night, allowing St. Cloud State to take the match 3-2 (17-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 15-11).
TOP HUSKIES
- Sophomore outside Kenzie Foley (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff-Luton) recorded a career-high and team leading 27 kills in the five set win. She additionally tallied 12 digs for the double-double.
- Senior outside Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) continued to dominate opponents defenses, though it was her defense that was on display Friday night. While the senior tallied 17 kills against the Wolves, she added a team-leading and season-high 24 digs for yet another double-double in her illustrious career.
- As a team, the Huskies recorded 17 blocks four the second consecutive match, including a team-leading five by Allison Naughton (Des Moines, Iowa / Dowling Catholic).
- Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) closed the match with 58 assists, two aces and 10 digs.
MAY THE (OUTSIDE) FORCE BE WITH YOU
The duo of Foley and Rachel were lethal against Northern State, as the outsides both tallied 15+ kills in the five set effort. Foley led the way with a career-high 27 kills, which ranks sixth all-time in single-match kills by an individual player, while Rachel closed the match with 17 kills, a team-leading 24 digs and two aces. The duo additionally scored a combined 49 points for the Huskies Friday evening, scoring 29.5 and 19.5 points respectively.
FIFTH SET DOMINANCE
St. Cloud State played in its fifth five-set match of 2021 and proved its one of the best teams at going the distance. The Huskies are a perfect 5-0 in five setters this year, with wins over three teams who were either ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA's top-25 poll.
BLOW THE HOUSE DOWN
Head coach Chad Braegelmann defeated every team in the NSIC but one entering the 2021 season: the Northern State Wolves. Thanks to Friday night's victory, the reigning NSIC Coach of the Year now has at least one win against every team in one of the toughest conferences in Division II volleyball. This season, Braegelmann has led his team to an 11-1 record in NSIC play, with the lone loss coming at the hands of #4 Concordia-St. Paul.
QUOTABLES
Head coach Chad Braegelmann on the Wolves:
"It was certainly an exciting match tonight. I am very proud of our women and the composure they showed throughout the match. I thought we settled down and played sets two through five pretty well. Our passing got a lot better throughout the match. Kenzie Foley was very terminal on the outside, especially in the fifth set. Being down 0-3 to start the fifth is never a good spot to be in, but we just kept chipping away. We overcame some calls we didn't think went our way, and the women found a way to get the job done."
UP NEXT
St. Cloud State will conclude its road trip on Saturday, as the Huskies travel to take on MSU-Moorhead. First serve is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CT in Moorhead, Minnesota.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Volleyball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
