St. Cloud State
18-4,13-1NSIC
Minnesota Duluth
15-8,7-7NSIC
Huskies kennel Bulldogs in 3-0 sweep
10/28/2021 8:19:00 PM | Volleyball
Maddy Torve moves to No. 3 all-time in career assists
DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Cloud State University volleyball matches against Minnesota-Duluth are always a dog fight. Thursday evening, the #14 Huskies and (RV) Bulldogs battled it out for supremacy and to answer one single question: Who really is the top dog in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC)?
The answer is: St. Cloud State. The Huskies dominated their canine foes Thursday evening to earn a resounding 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-19) win over Minnesota-Duluth. With the win, St. Cloud State improves to 18-4 overall with a 13-1 mark in NSIC play.
DOG EAT DOG WORLD
For the first time in a long time, or probably since the mid-90s, the Huskies entered the match against the Bulldogs as the favorite thanks to their seven match win streak and near-perfect record in conference play. In the first set, there was no question which team was better, as St. Cloud State jumped out to a 6-1 lead before eventually winning the opener 25-18. Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) was unstoppable from the outside pin, while the Huskies strong defense held the Bulldogs to just eight kills and forced them into eight errors in the first set.
The second set was equally as dominant, though Minnesota-Duluth managed to hang with St. Cloud State for the first few points. And by hang with, we mean keep it close until the 15 point mark, when the Huskies stormed ahead 17-11 on a serving run by Kobie Dills (Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Washington). St. Cloud State proceeded to win the set 25-20, again on a kill by Rachel, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Like the first two sets, the third set was once again all Huskies all the time, as they stormed out to an 8-4 lead over the Bulldogs and extended it to 16-8 midway through the set. Minnesota-Duluth, however, put together some scrappy play and won some key points, cutting St. Cloud State's lead to 19-15 and forcing head coach Chad Braegelmann to call a timeout. It was simply a scare, nothing too serious, as the Huskies won six of the ensuing 10 points to claim the set 25-19 and the match 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-19).
TOP HUSKIES
- Senior outside Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) led the match with 15 kills and added 12 digs for her 12th double-double of the 2021 season. Kenzie Foley (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff-Luton) added 11 kills and 12 digs in the three-set effort as well.
- Fifth year setter Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) closed the match with 35 assists and led St. Cloud State to a .264 hitting percentage.
- In addition to Rachel and Foley, two other Huskies recorded double-digit kills: junior libero Abigail Groeneweg (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) and senior right side Rachel Houle (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater). Groeneweg closed the match with 11 digs, while Houle added 10.
PERMANENTLY #3
Torve temporarily wore the No. 3 jersey on the court against the Bulldogs, but she will forever be No. 3 in the St. Cloud State record books. With her 21st assist of the match, the fifth-year senior surpassed Jennifer Watermann and moved to third all-time on the career assists list. After her 35 assist performance, Torve now has 3780 assists in her Husky career and is within striking distance of the 4000 mark.
CURSE = BROKEN
St. Cloud State was seemingly cursed anytime it entered Romano Gymnasium in Duluth, Minnesota. The Huskies were 2-1 in their previous three matches against the Bulldogs, but had yet to beat Minnesota-Duluth on its own court since 1995 (according to available records). St. Cloud State's last win in Duluth, Minnesota came in five set fashion, as the team upended the Bulldogs 3-2 (15-10, 10-15, 15-4, 5-15, 20-18) during the historic 1995 season.
QUOTABLES
Head coach Chad Braegelmnann on the win over Minnesota-Duluth:
"I'm proud of our effort tonight. Other than our service errors, we played pretty clean volleyball. Our passers, Abigail, Linsey and Kenzie were rock solid. Our defense may have put together the most complete match we've had all season. I thought Maddy did a nice job with her set distribution and the hitters put good swings on the ball. Another nice team win."
UP NEXT
The Huskies return home for their next match, as they are set to host Minnesota-Crookston at 2:00 p.m. CT on Saturday, October 30. The match will serve as the team's annual Halloween match, and fans are encouraged to come dressed in costume and cheer on St. Cloud State.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Volleyball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
