St. Cloud State
12-4,7-1NSIC
Upper Iowa
12-5,5-3NSIC
Volleyball earns 3-1 win over Upper Iowa
10/8/2021 8:09:00 PM | Volleyball
Linsey Rachel becomes 12th player in history to reach 1000 career kills
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The St. Cloud State University volleyball team is a force to be reckoned with. The #16 Huskies earned their 12th win of 2021 and seventh in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play Friday afternoon in dominant fashion, demonstrating their offensive prowess. With four student-athletes recording double-digit kills, St. Cloud State earned a definitive 3-1 (25-18, 25-15, 19-25, 25-16) win over Upper Iowa University, improving to 12-4 overall with a 7-1 mark in NSIC play.
'SUP UPPER IOWA
The Huskies were untouchable in the first and second set, cruising ahead to 15-18 and 25-15 victories. Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) and Bella Erne (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) provided many highlights in the first two sets, as Rachel became the 12th player in program history to join the 1000 career kills club. Erne added to her career kills total, tallying a team-leading 11 kills through the first two sets while committing just one error.
Things went a bit awry in the third set, as Upper Iowa used a four point serving run to take a 14-10 lead it would never relinquish, as the Peacocks won the set 25-19 to force the fourth. St. Cloud State wasted no time making a statement in set four, as the team kicked things off with a big block by Erne and Phebie Rossi (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens), setting the tone for the remainder of the set. The Huskies proceeded to win the set 25-16 to leave Fayette, Iowa with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-15, 19-25, 25-16) victory.
TOP HUSKIES
- Sophomore outside Kenzie Foley (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff-Luton) led the match with 17 kills and 12 digs.
- Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) and Bella Erne (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) both recorded double-digit kills Friday night with 10 and 13 respectively. Rachel additionally tallied 10 digs in the four set effort.
- Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) closed the match with 47 assists and led St. Cloud State to a .325 team hitting percentage, including a .583 mark in the second set.
- Middles Allison Naughton (Des Moines, Iowa / Dowling Catholic) and Phebie Rossi (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens) combined for 14 kills and nine blocks Friday evening.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
Rachel has been nearly unstoppable in her three years with the Huskies, and absolutely nothing was different in Friday's match against the Peacocks. The senior outside became the 12th player in program history to record 1000 career kills in the first set, and is the first St. Cloud State student-athlete to reach the milestone since 2010 (Ashley Shields). However, this may not be the only historic milestone Rachel achieves this specific weekend. After a 10 dig performance, the senior is now seven away from the 1000 career digs mark, a tally she could easily reach against Winona State Saturday.
CAN'T STOP THIS
For real. No one in the NSIC can stop Erne, who tore up the Upper Iowa defense Friday night. The senior right side tallied 11 kills in the first two sets and committed just one hitting error and eventually closed the match with 13 total. In the last three matches, Erne has tallied 33 kills and committed just six errors in 67 attempts.
QUOTABLES
Chad Braegelmann on Upper Iowa:
"We passed the ball extremely well tonight. Linsey [Rachel], Abigail [Groeneweg] and Kenzie [Foley] were rock solid in serve receive. They kept us in system, and we were able to be very efficient on offense. We really took care of the ball offensively in sets one, two and four. Set three we had a chunk of errors that really hurt us and allowed them to take the lead. I thought we did a good job of making adjustments throughout the match. We are going to enjoy this win over a solid Upper Iowa team."
UP NEXT
The Huskies will face another tough road test on Saturday, as they sojourn to Winona, Minnesota for a showdown with #9 Winona State. First serve is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CT at McGowan Gym on the Warriors' campus.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Volleyball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
