Volleyball road trips to Iowa, Winona for NSIC matches

Friday, October 8

Fayette, Iowa

6 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Upper Iowa

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

10/7/2021 10:00:00 AM | Volleyball

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - It seems like only yesterday the St. Cloud State University volleyball team was starting the 2021 season. Flash forward a month, and the #16 Huskies are nearing the midway point of the season. After a weekend at home, St. Cloud State hits the road for two key Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) matches this upcoming weekend, as the Huskies are set to take on Upper Iowa and #9 Winona State Friday and Saturday.

The two road matches are projected to be some of the best of the 2021 season, as St. Cloud State, Upper Iowa and Winona State all sit clumped together near or at the top of the NSIC standings. Additionally, the Peacocks were the only team in 2019 to play three five-set matches against the Huskies, though St. Cloud State was victorious every single time.

First serve in Fayette, Iowa on Friday is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT while Saturday's match in Winona is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CT. Live stats and video will be available for both matches, and score updates will be made to the team's official Twitter account (@scsuhuskies_vb) when possible.

Here are the five things to know before this weekend's NSIC matches:
4 - The Peacocks are one of the hottest teams in the conference entering Friday's match. Upper Iowa is riding a four-match win streak thanks to victories over Mary, Minot State, Bemidji State and Minnesota-Crookston. All of those wins happened on the road, helping the Peacocks improve to 12-4 this season with 5-2 in NSIC play.

7 - St. Cloud State will also have its hands full with Winona State. The Warriors are the hottest team in the NSIC thanks to their seven match win streak, which includes a 3-1 victory over #4 Concordia-St. Paul on Tuesday. Senior middle blocker Megan Flom recorded a team-leading 21 kills on 37 attempts in the four set victory, accounting for 22.5 of the team's 63 points scored. This season, Flom is hitting a blistering .478 in conference play with 222 kills in 51 sets.

.347/.092 - Early on the Huskies established themselves as one of the top offensive teams in the NSIC. Statistically, their Saturday opponent is one of the few teams with better offensive numbers. The Warriors are currently hitting .347 in conference matches this year while holding opponents to a conference low .092 hitting percentage. Additionally, Winona State leads the NSIC in total assists, kills and wins through the first month of conference play.

4.14 - Kenzie Foley (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff-Luton) will be a big key to St. Cloud State's success this weekend. The sophomore outside is currently averaging 4.14 kills per set, which ranks fourth amongst all hitters in the NSIC. Against Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State, though, Foley hit a season-low .096 from the outside, with 23 kills and 16 errors on 73 attempts.

995/983 - The milestone watch is on for senior outside Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake), who moved within striking distance of both the 1000 kills and 1000 digs threshold. After last weekend, Rachel is credited with 995 kills and 983 digs in 73 matches for the Huskies. If she eclipses 1000 in both categories this weekend, she will become just the fourth player in program history to join the exclusive 1000/1000 club.