St. Cloud State
Southwest Minnesota State
Volleyball opens NSIC Tournament with SMSU
11/16/2021 1:03:00 PM | Volleyball
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The St. Cloud State University volleyball team is headed back to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Tournament. Thanks to a historic season, the #11 Huskies earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament set to take place November 18-20 at The Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. St. Cloud State's first round opponent will be a familiar foe, as the team is scheduled to face #16 Southwest Minnesota State at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 18.
The Huskies earned the top seed in the NSIC Tournament after closing the regular season with a record of 19-1 in conference play and claiming the NSIC regular season title outright for the first time since 1982. SMSU finished in a four-way for fifth place but fell to the No. 8 seed due to strength of schedule.
The NSIC Volleyball Tournament will take place November 18-20 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. As the No. 1 seed, St. Cloud State will "host" the Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. CT Thursday, November 18 in the final match of the day. The winner of the match will dance to host either No. 4 Wayne State or No. 5 Northern State at 7:00 p.m. CT on Friday, November 19. Should the Huskies advance to Championship Saturday, they would face either Winona State, Concordia-St. Paul, Augustana or Upper Iowa at 3:00 p.m. on November 20.
Tickets for the NSIC Tournament are available online at www.ticketmaster.com or by visiting the Pentagon Ticket office. Standard admission is $20 per day, while student tickets cost $10.
Live stats and video will be available for St. Cloud State's opening round match against SMSU, while score updates will be made on the team's official Twitter page (@scsuhuskies_vb). For more information regarding hotels, the full tournament schedule and seeding, visit www.northernsun.org.
Here are the five things to know before the NSIC Tournament:
3 - This will be the third meeting between the Huskies and Mustangs, as they met twice during the 2021 regular season. St. Cloud State was dominant in those two meetings, winning in Marshall, Minnesota 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-19) before downing SMSU in Halenbeck Hall 3-1 (25-17, 25-21, 17-25, 25-17) on November 6. The Huskies defense was spectacular in both meetings, as they wracked up a combined 118 digs and 23 total blocks in the two matches.
19 - St. Cloud State closed the regular season with a near perfect 19-1 record in NSIC play, earning the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and the first NSIC regular season title since joining the conference in 2008. The 19 NSIC wins are the most in program history in any conference, breaking the previous record of 15 set in 2019.
6 - Six of the eight teams in the NSIC tournament were either ranked or received votes in the latest AVCA top-25 poll, including the Huskies. Winona State was the highest ranked team in the poll, as the Warriors were the lone NSIC team ranked in the top-10 at #8. St. Cloud State stayed put at #11 with Concordia-St. Paul just two spots before at #13. Wayne State and SMSU came in at #15 and #16 while Upper Iowa continued to receive votes in the latest poll.
297/283/191 - A key to the Huskies success this season has been their offensive balance, as three hitters tallied 150+ kills in NSIC play this season. Sophomore phenom Kenzie Foley (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff-Luton) turned heads in her first collegiate season, as she tallied 297 kills and 225 digs in NSIC play during the regular season. Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) was just as productive, tallying 283 kills and 249 digs against conference foes, while Phebie Rossi (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens) closed the regular season with 191 kills and 105.0 total blocks in NSIC play. All three earned First Team All-NSIC honors for their play and were named the NSIC Athletes of the Week multiple times in 2021.
4059 - Hitters can't put up those numbers without a good setter, and Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Chrisitan Academy) is better than good. The fifth year senior has tallied 4043 assists in her St. Cloud State career, including 1203 so far this season, and helped St. Cloud State hit .269 during the regular season. Torve currently leads the nation in total assists and ranks fourth in assists per set entering the weekend.
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1 - Junior libero Abigail Groeneweg (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) and her lethal serve have been one of the best kept secrets in the Huskies arsenal this season. Groeneweg closed the regular season leading the NSIC in both aces per set (0.50) and total aces, accumulating 44 total during the regular season. The junior currently ranks top-30 in the nation in aces per set and top-50 in total aces entering the NSIC Tournament.
