St. Cloud State
21-4,16-1NSIC
Sioux Falls
15-10,10-7NSIC
Huskies make history with win over Sioux Falls
11/5/2021 8:39:00 PM | Volleyball
#12 volleyball earn record 16th NSIC win of the season
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The St. Cloud State University volleyball team is no longer the new team on the block. The #12 Huskies were supposed to be good, but no one predicted they would take the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) by storm. St. Cloud State continued to maintain its top spot in the NSIC standings, defeating upset-minded Sioux Falls 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 27-25, 25-17) Friday evening to improve to 21-4 overall with a record 16-1 mark in conference play.
YOUNG(ish), SCRAPPY AND HUNGRY
The combined forces of Phebie Rossi (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens), Bella Erne (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) and Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) could not be stopped in the opening set. The trio led the Huskies to a dominant 25-21 win, combining for 13 kills without committing a single hitting error. St. Cloud State's defense additionally held Sioux Falls dominant hitters at bay, forcing the Cougars into a sub .200 hitting percentage and just 13 kills as a team.
That strong play carried over to the second set, as the Huskies jumped out to a 14-8 lead thanks to timely kills and tough serves. However, Sioux Falls slowly but surely chipped away at the six-point lead, going on a 15-4 run to take its first lead of the game at 17-16. The Cougars would go on to win the second set 25-21, and, with momentum suddenly on their side, take a 14-9 lead in the third.
An unlikely hero got the Huskies back on track: defensive specialist Kobie Dills (Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie). The junior won four consecutive points for St. Cloud State behind the service line, returning life to the Huskies and evening the score 14-14. That was when things got just a little bit crazy. St. Cloud State lost the momentum entirely, as Sioux Falls won three consecutive points and took a seemingly definitive lead at 18-15. The Cougars then seemed destined to win the set, as Sioux Falls took a 22-17 lead on an uncharastic hitting error by Erne.
Abigail Groeneweg (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) and Rossi had other ideas. The juniors ignited the Huskies rally, using Groeneweg's tricky float serve and Rossi's big block to even the set at 22-22. St. Cloud State then regained the advantage, as Groeneweg's serve just dropped over the other side of the net for an ace and a 23-22 Huskies lead.
Of course, Sioux Falls then managed to regain a lead for itself, using two kills from the outside to go up 24-23. Rossi again came up big for St. Cloud State, as her tenth kill of the night evened the score at 24-24 before her 11th kill gave the Huskies a 26-25 lead they would never relinquish.
Rachel sealed the 27-25 third set victory with a kill and set the tone for the remainder of the match. In fact, St. Cloud State stepped on the gas pedal and never let up in the fourth, jumping out to a 5-1 lead and eventually going up 17-8 on a monster serving run by Rachel Houle (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater). It was Erne who eventually clinched the match for St. Cloud State, as her ninth kill of the night cemented the 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 27-25, 25-17) victory for the Huskies.
TOP HUSKIES
- Junior middle blocker Phebie Rossi (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens) was a weapon of mass destruction Friday evening, tallying a team-leading 19 kills and eight blocks in the victory. She additionally hit .667 from the middle, committing just one error on her 27 swings.
- Senior outside Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) tallied another double-double, closing the night with 16 kills and a team-leading 14 digs. Abigail Groeneweg (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) closed the match with 14 digs, while Kenzie Foley (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff-Luton) also recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs.
- Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) recorded yet another 50+ assist performance, closing the match with 56 total.
ONE FOR THE BOOKS
The Huskies made some history Friday evening, as they recorded their 16th win in NSIC play. With that win, St. Cloud State is guaranteed the most NSIC victories in program history, with the previous record being 15 set in 2019.
RECORD WATCH
Torve continues to be on record watch as the Huskies enter the final two weekends of the regular season. With her 56 assist performance against the Cougars, the fifth year setter's career assist total moved to 3951, which is 49 assists away from the 4000 career assists mark.
UP NEXT
St. Cloud State continues its homestand Saturday, as the team hosts #14 SMSU in the final home match of the regular season. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CT in Halenbeck Hall.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Volleyball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
