St. Cloud State
Concordia-St. Paul
Volleyball opens October with CSP/MSU
9/30/2021 10:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The grind continues for the St. Cloud State University volleyball team. After opening Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play on September 17, the No. 16 ranked Huskies continue their trek through the conference season, as they are set to host national powerhouse Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State over the weekend.
For the third time in as many weeks, St. Cloud State will face a top-10 opponent over the weekend, as the No. 4 ranked Golden Bears are set to visit Halenbeck Hall on Friday for a 6:00 p.m. CT tilt. The first 25 students in attendance will receive a free St. Cloud State Dog Pound t-shirt, and the Huskies swim and dive team will also make a special appearance at the match.
Saturday's match against the Mavericks is slated to begin at 2:00 p.m. CT in Halenbeck Hall, and the first 150 fans will receive a free Nike drawstring bag, courtesy of St. Cloud State athletics.
Regardless of vaccination status, all fans must wear masts to St. Cloud State volleyball matches in compliance with the school's COVID-19 policy. Additionally, all fans must enter Halenbeck Hall Door 2 at the north side of the building to purchase tickets.
Live stats, video and radio coverage will be available for both Friday and Saturday's matches in Halenbeck Hall. Score updates will also be made to the team's official Twitter account (@scsuhuskies_vb).
Live links:
Friday, October 1: St. Cloud State vs. No. 4 Concordia-St. Paul
Live stats
Video
Radio
Saturday, October 2: St. Cloud State vs. Minnesota State
Live stats
Video
Radio
Here are the five things to know before this weekend's matches:
4 - St. Cloud State will play its third ranked opponent in as many weeks since the NSIC schedule started on September 17. After defeating No. 5 Wayne State and No. 5 SMSU the past two weekends, the Huskies will face perhaps one of their biggest challenges of the season in No. 4 Concordia-St. Paul. The national powerhouse has won nine national titles since 2007 (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017) and was ranked No. 4 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 Poll. The Golden Bears have been consistently ranked in the top-10 all season long and were the No. 1 ranked team in the nation the week of September 6.
5 - It was a memorable weekend the last time St. Cloud State hosted both Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul in Halenbeck Hall, as both matches were five setters. The Mavericks upset the top-10 ranked Huskies in the weekend opener, winning the final three sets to take the match 3-2 before history happened the following day. In dramatic fashion, St. Cloud State came back from down 2-0 to defeat the No. 7 Golden Bears for the first time in program history.
.526 - St. Cloud State middle blocker Phebie Rossi (Rapid City, S.D. / Stevens) earned her second consecutive NSIC weekly honor this past Monday, as she was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Week. Rossi hit .526 out of the middle, tallying 32 kills on 57 attempts while committing just two errors. She hit a season-high .611 in a 3-1 win over Bemidji State with 11 kills on 18 attempts and recorded a season-high 16 kills in a five set win over Sioux Falls on Saturday.
12.1 - Rossi wasn't the only Husky to earn weekly honors on Monday, as fifth year setter Maddy Torve (Loretto, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) was named the NSIC Setter of the Week for the second time in 2021. Torve guided St. Cloud State to a 3-0 record in conference play with wins over Bemidji State, SMSU and Sioux Falls while averaging 12.1 assists per set. Additionally, she became just the third setter in program history with multiple 60+ assist performances thanks to her career-high 68 the five set win over the Cougars.
976/957 - Fans and opponents alike have grown accustomed to hearing Linsey Rachel's (Maple Lake, Minn. / Maple Lake) over the loudspeaker. It should come as no surprise, then, that the senior outside is within striking distance of the coveted 1000/1000 milestone. With 976 kills and 957 digs to her name, Rachel could become just the fourth player in program history to record 1000 kill and 1000 digs in her Husky career. Additionally, with her 22 kill, 16 dig performance against Sioux Falls over the weekend, Rachel tied Leah Herrboldt's record for career double doubles at 47 (since the stat started being tracked in 1994).
