St. Cloud State
5-3,1-0NSIC
Augustana
5-4,0-1NSIC
Volleyball takes down Augustana 3-2
9/17/2021 9:19:00 PM | Volleyball
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – It took an extra few sets, but the St. Cloud State University volleyball team is back in the win column.
After three straight nonconference losses, #23 St. Cloud State opened Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play in the best way possible. With a "W", and in dramatic fashion. With a sea of red behind them, the Huskies took down Augustana University in five set, improving to 6-3 overall and 1-0 in NSIC with a 3-2 (25-23, 25-16, 23-25, 21-25, 15-6) win in Halenbeck Hall.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
St. Cloud State bucked the monkey off its back, snapping its three-match and nine-set losing streak in epic, not easy, fashion. After falling behind 7-3 in the first, the Huskies won seven of the next 13 points, rallying behind Maddy Torve's (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) serve to tie the set at 10-10. St. Cloud State then clinched the 25-23 victory with a monster kill from Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake). Rachel's kill set the tone for the second set, as the Huskies led from start to the 25-16 finish.
That was when things got interesting. Much like set one, the Vikings jumped out to an early advantage in set three, and led by as many as five points multiple times. St. Cloud State, though, battled and scrapped for every point, making a run of its own and cutting the Augustana lead to 24-23. The Vikings forced the fourth set with a kill by Maddy Guetter, and eventually forced a fifth after taking the fourth 25-21.
The fifth, though, was a one-sided block party, and it was in the Huskies favor. After Kenzie Foley (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff-Luton) opened the set with a kill, St. Cloud State tallied back-to-back blocks, setting the tone for the remainder of fifth. Sure, Augustana scored a point, cutting the lead to 3-1, but it was null and void. Every time the Vikings hitters jumped, a Husky blocker was there to greet them, or Abigail Groeneweg (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) was there to collect the dig. It was Foley, though, that Augustana had no answer for, as the sophomores 24th and 25th kills clinched the 15-6 win and the 3-2 (25-23, 25-16, 23-25, 21-25, 15-6) victory for the Huskies.
TOP HUSKIES
- Sophomore outside Kenzie Foley (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff-Luton) could not be stopped Friday evening in Halenbeck Hall. The sophomore tallied a career-high 25 kills and a team-leading 20 digs in the five-set victory while hitting .413 from the floor.
- The St. Cloud State block was nothing short of outstanding Friday evening, as the team recorded its best performance of the season to date. As a team, the Huskies recorded 15.5 total blocks, three solo and 25 assists, while junior middle blocker Phebie Rossi (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens) recorded a season high 11 (two solo, nine assist) in the win.
- In additionally to Foley, three other St. Cloud State student-athletes recorded double-digit digs: Abigail Groeneweg (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake), Linsey Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) and Rachel Houle (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater). Groeneweg tallied a season-high 17 digs in the win, while Rachel and Houle recorded 12 and 10 respectively.
WELCOME TO THE NSIC KENZIE FOLEY
Teams in the NSIC better get used to hearing Kenzie Foley's name over the loudspeaker. The sophomore made plenty of waves in the first conference match of her Huskies career, tallying 25 kills with just six errors on 46 attempts for a .413 hitting percentage. Foley added a 20 dig effort in the match as well, making it one of the best conference debuts for any St. Cloud State player in program history.
HITTING THE HIGH NOTES
The Huskies are hard to beat when they're hitting the ball. St. Cloud State is 6-1 this season when hitting .200+ as a team and have hit well under the .150 mark in two of three losses. Perhaps more important, though, was the Huskies defense Friday evening. St. Cloud State tallied a season-high 15.5 blocks and improved to 3-0 this season when tallied 10.0+ blocks in a single match. The Huskies tallied 13.0 blocks in a 3-0 sweep of UW-Parkside to open the season and tallied 11.0 in a 3-2 win over (RV) Michigan Tech.
POST GAME PRESSER
UP NEXT
There is no rest for the weary or the St. Cloud State volleyball team, as the team hosts #5 Wayne State College Saturday afternoon. The match is slated to begin at 2:00 p.m. CT in St. Cloud, Minnesota and the first 150 fans will receive a free SCSU Gameday Bracelet.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Volleyball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
