No. 7 Huskies rebound with hard-nosed win over Upper Iowa

Friday, October 7

St. Cloud, Minn.

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

15-3,7-3NSIC

Upper Iowa

10-7,4-6NSIC

Upper Iowa

St. Cloud St.

Photo by: Ethan Halverson

10/7/2022 10:05:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Rossi and Zimmerman combine for 25 kills as SCSU piles up 15 blocks in four-set victory

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 7 St. Cloud State Volleyball snapped their two-match losing skid with a gritty four-set win over Upper Iowa on Friday evening at Halenbeck Hall.

The Huskies leaned on their talented middle pairing of Phebie Rossi and Sam Zimmerman to lead both the offense and the block, piling up a season-high 15.0 total team blocks in the win. Rossi sent down 16 kills on .400 hitting, adding nine blocks to yet another ridiculous showing. Zimmerman hit .333 with nine kills and five blocks as Emma Berran (53 AST) leaned on her middles.

Kenzie Foley double-doubled with 16 kills and 18 digs, adding a career-best seven blocks. Linsey Rachel added a double-double of her own with 13 kills and 12 digs while moving into fourth all-time in career digs.

Keely Kurschner and Rachel Houle each dug out 12 swings as the Huskies posted a season-high 76 digs on Dig Pink Night.

Turning Point
St. Cloud State found another gear in the third set, raising their team hitting percentage from .155 through two to a .286 mark in both the third and fourth. The Huskies defense continued pressuring Upper Iowa at the net to pile up 15.0 total blocks, limiting the Peacocks to hit .000, .188 and .049 over the final three sets.

Quotables – St. Cloud State head coach Chad Braegelmann

"We've been working on starting a little bit faster. I thought we did an okay job of it a couple of times today, but I felt the key point was really in the middle of that third set. A couple of the captains spoke up in the huddle, leading the team, and whatever they said must have been magic. We played a lot better – more inspired volleyball, cleaner volleyball, and we played with more urgency. A tip of the cap to the young women that were leading our team – Rachel, Linsey and Phebie – all three were very solid tonight."

On what it takes to win the grittier matches in the NSIC… "It takes a little bit of luck, consistency, making plays and having good upperclassmen certainly helps. Today Phebie Rossi was very consistent in the middle with 16 kills and hitting .400, I really can't stress enough how solid she was to put is in a situation that we could win. The consistency piece is key – we've got to serve tougher. Tonight we only had one ace, and we only had two or three against Duluth. We have to be more aggressive from the service line and more willing to go after the line."

On the recent offensive inefficiency… "I think there's parts of matches now where teams are releasing to double block our outsides. They've had a lot of success out there, and when we do that our other three hitters have got to make plays. Tonight I felt we were much better – Makena had six kills, Sam had a very efficient nine kills and obviously Phebie had 16 kills and hit .400. When she does that, it's going to keep those middle blockers honest – they can't just tee up on Linsey and Kenzie."

Notables

Phebie Rossi sent down 16 kills on .400 hitting, adding nine blocks
Rossi is hitting .436 with 4.29 kills/set across her last three matches
Sam Zimmerman added nine kills on .333 hitting with five blocks
Kenzie Foley double-doubled with 16 kills and 18 digs, recording a career-high seven blocks
The double-double is Foley's 11^th of 2022
Linsey Rachel added a double-double on 13 kills and 12 digs
Rachel passed Leah Herrboldt for fourth all-time in digs with No. 1362 of her career
Rachel's double-double was the seventh of her 2022 campaign
The Huskies set a new season-high with 15.0 total blocks
SCSU has double-digit blocks in four of their last five matches
With 25 on Friday, the Huskies recorded 20-plus attack errors for the fourth straight match
In their 14 matches prior, SCSU had 20 or more attacking errors just once – 21 in their four-set win over Ashland on August 27
Over that same four-match span, SCSU has recorded 55-plus kills after doing so once in the 14 matches prior – in the August 27 match vs Ashland
The Huskies' 76 digs also set a new season-high

Information regarding single game and season tickets can be found at scsutickets.com. For all the latest on St. Cloud State Volleyball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.