St. Cloud State
Bemidji State
Volleyball opens three-match week with Bemidji State
11/2/2021 1:18:00 PM | Volleyball
ST. CLOUD, MINN. - In case you haven't heard, St. Cloud State University's Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) is good at volleyball. The senior outside has tallied double-digit kills in eight of the Huskies last 10 matches to help her team finish the month of October with a 14-1 record in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play. After another weekend of impressive , eye-popping numbers, Rachel was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week Monday afternoon.Â
Rachel garnered her first NSIC Player of the Week honor this season after superb performances against (RV) Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota-Crookston. The senior outside tallied 32 kills in the Huskies two NSIC matches while averaging 5.33 kills per set. She additionally hit .409 as a six-rotation outside hitter and averaged 3.00 digs per set. Rachel opened the week with a double-double in St. Cloud State's 3-0 sweep of the Bulldogs as she tallied a match-leading 15 kills and 12 digs. She was even better in the Huskies win over the Golden Eagles on Saturday, as Rachel again led the match ST. CLOUD, MINN. - Fifteen down, five to go. Less than two months ago, the St. Cloud State University volleyball team officially opened its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) schedule, and now, the team is down to its final five matches in conference play. With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, the #12 Huskies will play three matches in the next five days, including Tuesday's 6:00 p.m. CT home match against Bemidji State University.
Tuesday's match against the Beavers kicks off the final two weeks of the regular season for St. Cloud State. After playing every team in the conference once, the Huskies sit atop the NSIC standings with a 14-1 record. St. Cloud State's remaining matches, though, are certainly not guaranteed wins. In addition to Tuesday's match against Bemidji State, the Huskies will host Sioux Falls at 6:00 p.m. CT Friday and #14 Southwest Minnesota State at 2:00 p.m. CT on Saturday.
Live stats, video and KVSC radio coverage will be available for all three matches this upcoming weekend for fans who cannot make it to Halenbeck Hall. Score updates will also be made to the team's official Twitter account (@scsuhuskies_vb) when possible.
Here are the five things to know before the Huskies final home weekend of 2021:
7 - St. Cloud State will honor seven seniors prior to Saturday's match against the Mustangs: Kobie Dills (Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Washington), Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake), Bella Erne (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine), Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy), Rachel Houle (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater), Morgan Baufield (Wayzata, Minn. / Wayzata) and Allison Naughton (Des Moines, Iowa / Dowling Catholic). While five of the seven can opt to return for an extra season in 2022, Saturday will truly serve as the final home match for Torve and Baufield, who returned in 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled their true senior season in 2020.Â
3815 Â - Torve wasted no time establishing herself as one of the best setters in program history back in 2019. In her final season in 2021, she's only cemented her legacy with St. Cloud State. Thanks to her 35 assist performance against Minnesota-Duluth last week, Torve moved to third all-time in career assists, eventually notching No. 3815 in the win over Minnesota-Crookston on Saturday. Entering Tuesday's match, Torve ranks third in the nation in assists per set and sixth in total assists and leads the NSIC in both categories.Â
5.33/.409 - Senior outside Rachel was an absolute force for the Huskies in the month of October, but especially in their matches against (RV) Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota-Crookston last weekend. Rachel averaged 5.33 kills per set and hit .409 from the outside pin and additionally averaged 3.00 digs per set against the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles. For her efforts, Rachel was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time this season, becoming the third St. Cloud State student-athlete to garner POW honors from the conference.
3-0 - The Huskies went 3-0 against the Beavers, Cougars and Mustangs earlier this season, winning nine of the 12 sets played against all three teams. In another three match week, St. Cloud State defeated Bemidji State 3-1 on the road before upending then #5 SMSU 3-0 in a dramatic and dominant road sweep. It was actually Sioux Falls that gave the Huskies the most trouble, as St. Cloud State needed all five sets to defeat the upset minded Cougars 3-2.
46 - Huskies fans have already witnessed plenty of history in 2021. They may witness some more this upcoming week. Sophomore outside Kenzie Foley (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff-Luton) is on pace to break the record for first year kills, which was previously set by Rachel back on 2018. Foley, who is participating in her first season of collegiate volleyball, has tallied 307 this season, 45 off Rachel's record of 352. with 17 kills and a .500 hitting percentage.Â
