No. 6 SCSU opens conference play at Mary and Minot State

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 6 St. Cloud State Volleyball begins Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this weekend with matches at Mary and Minot State. The Huskies play in Bismarck on Friday at 6:00 p.m. CT with Saturday's contest in Minot set for 2:00 p.m. CT.

Broadcast Information

Both matches can be seen on the NSIC Network and heard on the KVSC Sports Stream along with live stats coverage provided by the host teams. Links are available on the SCSU Volleyball schedule page.

Huskies Primer

The Huskies advanced two spots in the ACVA Top-25 poll to No. 6 on Monday, reaching their highest ranking since Week One of the 1996 campaign. St. Cloud State is fresh off a 4-0 weekend at the Hyatt Place Bash at the Beach in West Palm Beach, Florida. The offense hit .329 with 14.25 kills a set coupled with excellent serving – 39 aces at 3.25 a set – to keep opponents out of system. Kenzie Foley (4.40 K/S, 3.00 D/S, 1.00 B/S, .402) and Phebie Rossi (2.64 K/S, 1.18 B/S, .397) were named to the All-Tournament Team while Keely Kurschner (9 SA, 3.25 D/S) was named Most Outstanding Libero.

Last Time Out

St. Cloud State leaned on their middle hitters to close out their perfect Hyatt Place Bash at the Beach showing with a straight-set win over New Haven on Saturday afternoon. Sam Zimmerman posted a career-high 11 kills on .438 hitting while Phebie Rossi hit .400 with eight kills to power the Huskies offense. Makena Hollman was dominant swinging from the right pin, putting down eight kills on 12 swings with zero errors (.667 hitting %). The Huskies' service work was stellar as Linsey Rachel (3), Rachel Houle (2), Keely Kurschner (2), Allena Shimon (1) and Rossi (1) combined for nine aces.

Scouting Mary

Mary has struggled out of the gates in 2022, going 1-7 in nonconference play with a lone three-set win over Arkansas-Monticello on September 2. The Marauders' defense has been a strong point, boasting a .162 opponent hitting percentage with 19.52 digs per set – best in the NSIC and third in the nation. Kaia Sueker has anchored the defensive corps with 5.07 D/S alongside Nehkyah Ellis' 4.00 digs a set. Ellis leads all scorers with 2.48 kills per set, but on the whole Mary has hit just .117 on the season. Marauder middles Maddie Cooper (.204) and Alexandia Harper (.230) are the lone two players hitting better than .200 this fall.

Scouting Minot State

Minot State enters the weekend in search of their first win, starting off 2022 0-7. The Beavers have played a difficult schedule featuring then-No. 2 Washburn and No. 10 Nebraska-Kearney, winning just three sets thus far. Minot is hitting .089 to their opponents' .298, putting away just 8.5 kills a set. Alexandra Koontz leads the offense with 2.04 kills a set.

Leading the Pack

Multiple Huskies can be found among the NSIC leaderboards entering conference play this weekend. Kenzie Foley leads the conference in points per set (5.57) while landing second in kills/set (4.57), fourth in aces/set (0.52), 11^th in hitting percentage (.333) and 18^th in blocks per set (0.87). Phebie Rossi is the NSIC leader in blocks a set (1.33), ranking 12^th in hitting percentage (.329) and 14^th in points per set (3.71). Emma Berran (10.83) ranks fifth in assists per set while libero Keely Kurschner is fifth in digs/set (4.32) and tied for seventh with Rachel Houle in aces/set (0.48). Linsey Rachel is fifth in aces/set (0.50), 15^th in digs/set (3.41), 18^th in points/set (3.43) and 19^th in kills a set (2.86). Sam Zimmerman rounds out the Huskies' conference leaders, landing ninth in hitting percentage (.345) and 17^th in blocks a set (0.88).

Rachel's Record Watch

Graduate student outside hitter Linsey Rachel enters the weekend ranked fourth on the Huskies' all-time kills list with 1314 and sixth in digs with 1273. She is nine kills away from passing Kim Pellman (99') for third all-time in program history.

Can't Stop Kenzie

Junior outside hitter Kenzie Foley begins NSIC play ranking fourth in the nation with 5.57 points per set while landing eighth in kills/set at 4.57. She is first and second respectively in the two categories across the NSIC while hitting .333 – just outside the NSIC's top-10.

Termination = Obliteration

The Huskies open NSIC action featuring one of the top offenses in DII. SCSU ranks eighth nationally in hitting percentage (.295), 10^th in kills per set (14.24), 10^th in aces per set (2.68) and 18^th in assists per set (12.76). Among NSIC opponents, the Huskies are second in hitting percentage and assists/set, fourth in kills/set and fifth in assists/set.

Serve-and-Pass Stars

St. Cloud State leads the NSIC in both total aces (67) and aces per set (2.68), ranking 10^th across in NCAA in the latter category. Boasting a stingy serve receive, the Huskies have allowed the fewest aces (18) and aces per set (0.72) in the Northern Sun. Kenzie Foley (.983), Linsey Rachel (.966) and Keely Kurschner (.908) have combined to deliver a .954 serve receive this season.

Phebie's Presence

Senior Phebie Rossi provides a key presence at the net for SCSU, leading the NSIC and ranking No. 17 in the NCAA with 1.33 blocks a set.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Emma Berran

Kenzie Foley

Makena Hollman

Rachel Houle

Keely Kurschner

Linsey Rachel

Phebie Rossi

Allena Shimon

Sam Zimmerman

Saint Cloud State University Athletics