Friday, November 18
Wayne, Neb.
5:00 P.M. CT
St. Cloud State
vs
Northwest Missouri State
Photo by: Thomas Breach
No. 7 St. Cloud State opens NCAA Tournament with No. 12 Bearcats
11/16/2022 3:45:00 PM | Volleyball
Five-seed Huskies travel to Wayne, Nebraska for the NCAA Central Region Tournament
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 7 St. Cloud State Volleyball begins NCAA Tournament play this Friday at the Central Region Tournament in Wayne, Nebraska, squaring off No. 12 Northwest Missouri State. First serve is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CT at Rice Auditorium.
The Huskies earned the No. 5 seed at the Central Region with a 26-5 record, while Northwest Missouri State enters as the No. 4 seed at 24-6. SCSU has not faced Northwest Missouri State in the NCAA Tournament, last competing against them in the postseason during the 1981 AIAW Region 6 Tournament.
Broadcast Information
The Central Region will be broadcast on the NSIC Network and 88.1 FM KVSC along with live stats provided by tournament host Wayne State. Links to each coverage option are available on the SCSU Volleyball schedule page.
Ticketing Information
Fans can purchase tickets through the Central Region Tournament Page as well as at the gate. Tickets are available on a per-day basis, good for all matches on the day of purchase. Adult tickets are $12, seniors are $6 and students are $3.
The Central Region Field
St. Cloud State enters the 2022 NCAA Central Region Tournament as the No. 5 seed, paired in the Quarterfinal with No. 12 Northwest Missouri State. No. 2 Wayne State earned the top seed, facing off with GAC Champion and No. 24 Harding in the other Quarterfinal on the Huskies' side of the bracket. On the other side, No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul draws No. 13 Nebraska Kearney in the 2-7 Quarterfinal while No. 6 Minnesota Duluth battles MIAA Champion and No. 15 Washburn in the 3-6 match.
Huskies at the NCAA Tournament
2022 marks the eighth St. Cloud State appearance at the NCAA Tournament with the round of 64 match against Northwest Missouri State being the 10th match the Huskies have played at the national tournament. The Huskies are 2-7 all-time in the NCAA's, making their deepest run in 1995 with Round of 32 and Sweet 16 wins over Morningside and Northern Colorado respectively before falling to eventual National Champion Barry in the Elite 8. St. Cloud State hasn't won an NCAA Tournament match since November 18, 1995 – 27 years (9,862 days) to the day of Friday's match against NWMSU. Including AIAW Tournament play, the program is 12-17 at the National level.
Quoting Braegelmann
"It's exciting to play a team outside of the conference in the NCAA Tournament – we haven't done that in over 20 years. You want to see teams that haven't seen you lately. Everybody in this tournament at this point is fantastic."
On the Bearcats… "Northwest Missouri State is a great defensive team. They've been at or near the top of the MIAA for the last few years. They have NCAA experience from last year, they're young, their setter is solid and they have a good outside hitter. Everybody's dealing with some injuries at this point of the year – they may have a few depth things but hey, everybody is beat up at this point of the year. It's going to be a dogfight."
On the Huskies' talented All-American trio… "Having experience with the returning All-Americans – women who know they can do it, their teammates know they can do it and their opponents know they can do it – it's just hard to replicate. They've been in big matches before, they've had sustained success, their consistency and leadership on the court with their actions, words and play have been key."
"The key is to not treat the matches any different. It's really hard to win matches at the collegiate level, period, and then you're saying you're going to take the best teams in the country, put them in a tournament and try to win matches there – and then you're going to take arguably the best and deepest region in the country and try to win matches there. You're going in, you're playing really great teams. In order to win matches against great teams you have to play great and things are going to have to go your way a little bit."
Scouting No. 12 Northwest Missouri State
Northwest Missouri State enters the NCAA Tournament at 24-6 with a 17-3 record in conference play, earning their first-ever MIAA Regular Season Championship and the No. 1 seed at their conference tournament. The Bearcats went 1-1 at the MIAA Championships, taking straight sets from Missouri Southern before dropping a four-set match to Washburn – each of the four sets were decided by two points with three sending the match point past 25. 2022 MIAA Player of the Year Alyssa Rezac (11.07 A/S) directs the conference's second-most efficient offense to a .249 hitting percentage, ranking 10th nationally in team kills/set with 14.19. Outside hitter Payton Kirchoefer (3.75 K/S, .267, 3.92 D/S) and right side Jaden Ferguson (3.04 K/S, .299) are Rezac's top options alongside middle hitter Abby Brunssenn (2.09 K/S, 1.15 B/S, .275). The Bearcats boast a stingy defense, ranked second in the NCAA with 19.70 digs/set, and hold foes to a .167 hitting percentage.
It's Been a While
The Huskies and Bearcats haven't met since September 13, 2013 at the NSIC/MIAA Challenge held at the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls. St. Cloud State fell in straight sets to NWMSU, led by Kellan Flynn's eight kills and Brianne Stamer's 14 digs. Huskies associate head coach Marci Taumalolo is the lone SCSU holdover from the last meeting while Bearcats header Amy Woerth was in her first campaign as head coach of Northwest Missouri State that season.
Last Time Out
Tasked with beating the No. 3 team in the country on their home floor, No. 9 St. Cloud State earned their second-straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament Championship by taking down Concordia-St. Paul in a five-set thriller at the Gangelhoff Center on Sunday afternoon. The Huskies faced a difficult path to an at-large NCAA bid entering the conference tournament, taking matters into their own hands and controlling their own national tournament destiny by earning the NSIC's automatic bid. St. Cloud State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match by taking the first two sets 28-26 and 25-20 while holding the Golden Bears to hit below .190 in both frames. Linsey Rachel fueled the offense, putting down eight kills in the first set alone. Concordia St.-Paul came storming back to take the next two sets, hitting .552 and .516 while outkilling the Huskies 37-22. The two giants of the Northern Sun traded punches in the fifth, knotting up the score eight times as the lead changed hands another four times. Neither team led by more than two points in the fifth. After a CSP block made it 13-12 Golden Bears, the Huskies sided out with a kill from Kenzie Foley. Rachel made it a match point with her 17th kill of the evening, then a huge stuff block by Zimmerman and Makena Hollman sent the Huskies-packed Gangelhoff Center into a frenzy.
All-Tournament Huskies
Sam Zimmerman, Kenzie Foley, Phebie Rossi and Linsey Rachel were each named to the All-Tournament Team as the Huskies led all NSIC teams with four selections. Zimmerman hit .412 with 2.82 kills/set while Rossi put away 2.91 kills/set on .409 hitting. Rachel led the Huskies at the tournament with 3.27 kills and 3.68 points per set while adding 3.55 digs/set. Foley took her defense to another level, averaging 5.09 digs/set to go with 3.09 kills/set.
National Notice
Junior outside hitter Kenzie Foley was named AVCA DII National Player of the Week for the second time this season after leading the Huskies to the NSIC Championship. Foley averaged 5.09 digs/set to anchor the Huskies' defense in the NSIC Tournament and led a serve receive that was aced just seven times. The Sergeant Bluff, Iowa product put down 3.09 kills/set and provided 3.45 points/set during the tournament.
The Big Three
St. Cloud State's offense has been led by their three returning All-Americans – middle blocker Phebie Rossi pressures defenses as an intimidating presence alongside fearsome outsides Linsey Rachel and Kenzie Foley. The Huskies are one of just four teams in all of DII who feature three qualifying players who average 3.00 or more kills/set, alongside No. 2 Wayne State, No. 21 Quincy and Texas A&M International. SCSU is one of just seven programs who feature three hitters with 300 or more kills on the year.
Berran's Brilliance
True freshman setter Emma Berran has provided a marvelous season for SCSU, ranking 12th nationally in assists/set (11.05) while directing the offense to rank seventh in hitting percentage (.279) and 14th in kills/set (14.07) across the NCAA. She is just 57 assists away from setting a new first-year program record. Berran took her game to another level at the conference tournament, posting 11.64 assists/set and converting on 40.0% of her sets while guiding the offense to hit .269.
Linsey's Legacy
2022 NSIC Most Outstanding Senior of the Year Linsey Rachel enters the final chapter of her incredible St. Cloud State career at the National Tournament. Rachel is the program's all-time leader in kills and the only 1500x1500 Club member (kills and digs) in program history while ranking third in points – 12.0 points from moving into second – and fourth in digs. A two-time All-American and four-time All-NSIC selection, Rachel has guided the Huskies to three straight NCAA Tournament bids.
Rossi's Reign
Senior middle blocker Phebie Rossi ranks sixth nationally with 1.26 blocks/set and is 20th in hitting percentage at .382 – setting the stage for an intriguing showdown against a NWMSU team that was blocked the least of any team in the MIAA. The senior ranks fourth all-time in blocks and block assists, third in hitting percentage and eighth in solo blocks. Rossi is one block away from recording her 400th career block and could make a significant jump in the all-time solo block leaderboard with a strong national tournament.
Defensive Dominance
The Huskies owned the second-best defense in the Northern Sun in the regular season, holding opponents to a .162 hitting percentage while allowing the second-fewest kills/set in the league at 10.55. SCSU allowed the fewest kills in the league at 1023 and ranked second in blocks/set with 2.29. The Huskies' work at the service line consistently kept opponents out of system, averaging 1.94 aces/set – second-most in the league.
Postseason Phenoms
Linsey Rachel has been dominant in postseason play throughout her collegiate career, averaging 3.85 kills/set, 4.35 points/set and 3.80 digs/set on .228 hitting over 11 career matches. Kenzie Foley has hit .276 in the postseason, recording 3.96 kills/set and 3.81 digs/set while providing 4.44 points/set. Phebie Rossi has averaged 1.49 blocks/set across 11 postseason matches, racking up 61 blocks in her playoff career to go with 3.43 points/set on .296 hitting.
Points on Passing
St. Cloud State's serve receive enjoyed an outstanding NSIC Tournament, going 201-for-208 (.966) with just seven aces allowed in 11 sets played. In wins this season SCSU receives a .933 with 1.13 aces allowed per set with those two marks falling to .930 and 1.43 in losses.
Leading the Pack
Multiple Huskies could be found among the NSIC leaderboards at the conclusion of the regular season. Phebie Rossi led the league in blocks (126) and blocks/set (1.31) while ranking third in hitting percentage (.379), seventh in points/set (4.03) and 16th in kills/set (3.08). Kenzie Foley landed second in kills/set (3.98), third in points/set (4.65) eighth in aces/set (0.37) and tied for 19th in digs/set (3.03). Keely Kurschner was second in the league with 0.44 aces/set and eighth with 3.90 digs/set. Emma Berran ranked fourth in assists/set (10.98). Linsey Rachel landed seventh in kills/set (3.42), ninth in points/set (3.88), 18th in aces/set (0.32) and 19th in digs/set (3.03). Sam Zimmerman rounded out the leaderboards at 12th in blocks/set (0.90) and 18th in hitting percentage (.278).
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.
The Huskies earned the No. 5 seed at the Central Region with a 26-5 record, while Northwest Missouri State enters as the No. 4 seed at 24-6. SCSU has not faced Northwest Missouri State in the NCAA Tournament, last competing against them in the postseason during the 1981 AIAW Region 6 Tournament.
Broadcast Information
The Central Region will be broadcast on the NSIC Network and 88.1 FM KVSC along with live stats provided by tournament host Wayne State. Links to each coverage option are available on the SCSU Volleyball schedule page.
Ticketing Information
Fans can purchase tickets through the Central Region Tournament Page as well as at the gate. Tickets are available on a per-day basis, good for all matches on the day of purchase. Adult tickets are $12, seniors are $6 and students are $3.
The Central Region Field
St. Cloud State enters the 2022 NCAA Central Region Tournament as the No. 5 seed, paired in the Quarterfinal with No. 12 Northwest Missouri State. No. 2 Wayne State earned the top seed, facing off with GAC Champion and No. 24 Harding in the other Quarterfinal on the Huskies' side of the bracket. On the other side, No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul draws No. 13 Nebraska Kearney in the 2-7 Quarterfinal while No. 6 Minnesota Duluth battles MIAA Champion and No. 15 Washburn in the 3-6 match.
Huskies at the NCAA Tournament
2022 marks the eighth St. Cloud State appearance at the NCAA Tournament with the round of 64 match against Northwest Missouri State being the 10th match the Huskies have played at the national tournament. The Huskies are 2-7 all-time in the NCAA's, making their deepest run in 1995 with Round of 32 and Sweet 16 wins over Morningside and Northern Colorado respectively before falling to eventual National Champion Barry in the Elite 8. St. Cloud State hasn't won an NCAA Tournament match since November 18, 1995 – 27 years (9,862 days) to the day of Friday's match against NWMSU. Including AIAW Tournament play, the program is 12-17 at the National level.
Quoting Braegelmann
"It's exciting to play a team outside of the conference in the NCAA Tournament – we haven't done that in over 20 years. You want to see teams that haven't seen you lately. Everybody in this tournament at this point is fantastic."
On the Bearcats… "Northwest Missouri State is a great defensive team. They've been at or near the top of the MIAA for the last few years. They have NCAA experience from last year, they're young, their setter is solid and they have a good outside hitter. Everybody's dealing with some injuries at this point of the year – they may have a few depth things but hey, everybody is beat up at this point of the year. It's going to be a dogfight."
On the Huskies' talented All-American trio… "Having experience with the returning All-Americans – women who know they can do it, their teammates know they can do it and their opponents know they can do it – it's just hard to replicate. They've been in big matches before, they've had sustained success, their consistency and leadership on the court with their actions, words and play have been key."
"The key is to not treat the matches any different. It's really hard to win matches at the collegiate level, period, and then you're saying you're going to take the best teams in the country, put them in a tournament and try to win matches there – and then you're going to take arguably the best and deepest region in the country and try to win matches there. You're going in, you're playing really great teams. In order to win matches against great teams you have to play great and things are going to have to go your way a little bit."
Scouting No. 12 Northwest Missouri State
Northwest Missouri State enters the NCAA Tournament at 24-6 with a 17-3 record in conference play, earning their first-ever MIAA Regular Season Championship and the No. 1 seed at their conference tournament. The Bearcats went 1-1 at the MIAA Championships, taking straight sets from Missouri Southern before dropping a four-set match to Washburn – each of the four sets were decided by two points with three sending the match point past 25. 2022 MIAA Player of the Year Alyssa Rezac (11.07 A/S) directs the conference's second-most efficient offense to a .249 hitting percentage, ranking 10th nationally in team kills/set with 14.19. Outside hitter Payton Kirchoefer (3.75 K/S, .267, 3.92 D/S) and right side Jaden Ferguson (3.04 K/S, .299) are Rezac's top options alongside middle hitter Abby Brunssenn (2.09 K/S, 1.15 B/S, .275). The Bearcats boast a stingy defense, ranked second in the NCAA with 19.70 digs/set, and hold foes to a .167 hitting percentage.
It's Been a While
The Huskies and Bearcats haven't met since September 13, 2013 at the NSIC/MIAA Challenge held at the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls. St. Cloud State fell in straight sets to NWMSU, led by Kellan Flynn's eight kills and Brianne Stamer's 14 digs. Huskies associate head coach Marci Taumalolo is the lone SCSU holdover from the last meeting while Bearcats header Amy Woerth was in her first campaign as head coach of Northwest Missouri State that season.
Last Time Out
Tasked with beating the No. 3 team in the country on their home floor, No. 9 St. Cloud State earned their second-straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament Championship by taking down Concordia-St. Paul in a five-set thriller at the Gangelhoff Center on Sunday afternoon. The Huskies faced a difficult path to an at-large NCAA bid entering the conference tournament, taking matters into their own hands and controlling their own national tournament destiny by earning the NSIC's automatic bid. St. Cloud State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match by taking the first two sets 28-26 and 25-20 while holding the Golden Bears to hit below .190 in both frames. Linsey Rachel fueled the offense, putting down eight kills in the first set alone. Concordia St.-Paul came storming back to take the next two sets, hitting .552 and .516 while outkilling the Huskies 37-22. The two giants of the Northern Sun traded punches in the fifth, knotting up the score eight times as the lead changed hands another four times. Neither team led by more than two points in the fifth. After a CSP block made it 13-12 Golden Bears, the Huskies sided out with a kill from Kenzie Foley. Rachel made it a match point with her 17th kill of the evening, then a huge stuff block by Zimmerman and Makena Hollman sent the Huskies-packed Gangelhoff Center into a frenzy.
All-Tournament Huskies
Sam Zimmerman, Kenzie Foley, Phebie Rossi and Linsey Rachel were each named to the All-Tournament Team as the Huskies led all NSIC teams with four selections. Zimmerman hit .412 with 2.82 kills/set while Rossi put away 2.91 kills/set on .409 hitting. Rachel led the Huskies at the tournament with 3.27 kills and 3.68 points per set while adding 3.55 digs/set. Foley took her defense to another level, averaging 5.09 digs/set to go with 3.09 kills/set.
National Notice
Junior outside hitter Kenzie Foley was named AVCA DII National Player of the Week for the second time this season after leading the Huskies to the NSIC Championship. Foley averaged 5.09 digs/set to anchor the Huskies' defense in the NSIC Tournament and led a serve receive that was aced just seven times. The Sergeant Bluff, Iowa product put down 3.09 kills/set and provided 3.45 points/set during the tournament.
The Big Three
St. Cloud State's offense has been led by their three returning All-Americans – middle blocker Phebie Rossi pressures defenses as an intimidating presence alongside fearsome outsides Linsey Rachel and Kenzie Foley. The Huskies are one of just four teams in all of DII who feature three qualifying players who average 3.00 or more kills/set, alongside No. 2 Wayne State, No. 21 Quincy and Texas A&M International. SCSU is one of just seven programs who feature three hitters with 300 or more kills on the year.
Berran's Brilliance
True freshman setter Emma Berran has provided a marvelous season for SCSU, ranking 12th nationally in assists/set (11.05) while directing the offense to rank seventh in hitting percentage (.279) and 14th in kills/set (14.07) across the NCAA. She is just 57 assists away from setting a new first-year program record. Berran took her game to another level at the conference tournament, posting 11.64 assists/set and converting on 40.0% of her sets while guiding the offense to hit .269.
Linsey's Legacy
2022 NSIC Most Outstanding Senior of the Year Linsey Rachel enters the final chapter of her incredible St. Cloud State career at the National Tournament. Rachel is the program's all-time leader in kills and the only 1500x1500 Club member (kills and digs) in program history while ranking third in points – 12.0 points from moving into second – and fourth in digs. A two-time All-American and four-time All-NSIC selection, Rachel has guided the Huskies to three straight NCAA Tournament bids.
Rossi's Reign
Senior middle blocker Phebie Rossi ranks sixth nationally with 1.26 blocks/set and is 20th in hitting percentage at .382 – setting the stage for an intriguing showdown against a NWMSU team that was blocked the least of any team in the MIAA. The senior ranks fourth all-time in blocks and block assists, third in hitting percentage and eighth in solo blocks. Rossi is one block away from recording her 400th career block and could make a significant jump in the all-time solo block leaderboard with a strong national tournament.
Defensive Dominance
The Huskies owned the second-best defense in the Northern Sun in the regular season, holding opponents to a .162 hitting percentage while allowing the second-fewest kills/set in the league at 10.55. SCSU allowed the fewest kills in the league at 1023 and ranked second in blocks/set with 2.29. The Huskies' work at the service line consistently kept opponents out of system, averaging 1.94 aces/set – second-most in the league.
Postseason Phenoms
Linsey Rachel has been dominant in postseason play throughout her collegiate career, averaging 3.85 kills/set, 4.35 points/set and 3.80 digs/set on .228 hitting over 11 career matches. Kenzie Foley has hit .276 in the postseason, recording 3.96 kills/set and 3.81 digs/set while providing 4.44 points/set. Phebie Rossi has averaged 1.49 blocks/set across 11 postseason matches, racking up 61 blocks in her playoff career to go with 3.43 points/set on .296 hitting.
Points on Passing
St. Cloud State's serve receive enjoyed an outstanding NSIC Tournament, going 201-for-208 (.966) with just seven aces allowed in 11 sets played. In wins this season SCSU receives a .933 with 1.13 aces allowed per set with those two marks falling to .930 and 1.43 in losses.
Leading the Pack
Multiple Huskies could be found among the NSIC leaderboards at the conclusion of the regular season. Phebie Rossi led the league in blocks (126) and blocks/set (1.31) while ranking third in hitting percentage (.379), seventh in points/set (4.03) and 16th in kills/set (3.08). Kenzie Foley landed second in kills/set (3.98), third in points/set (4.65) eighth in aces/set (0.37) and tied for 19th in digs/set (3.03). Keely Kurschner was second in the league with 0.44 aces/set and eighth with 3.90 digs/set. Emma Berran ranked fourth in assists/set (10.98). Linsey Rachel landed seventh in kills/set (3.42), ninth in points/set (3.88), 18th in aces/set (0.32) and 19th in digs/set (3.03). Sam Zimmerman rounded out the leaderboards at 12th in blocks/set (0.90) and 18th in hitting percentage (.278).
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.
Players Mentioned
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