No. 8 Huskies Volleyball to Host No. 12 Bulldogs, Visit Bemidji State

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 8 St. Cloud State Volleyball (14-4, 7-2 NSIC) returns home to Halenbeck Hall on Thursday for a rivalry conference match with No. 12 Minnesota Duluth (12-5, 5-4 NSIC) before traveling north on Saturday to meet Bemidji State (6-10, 3-5 NSIC). Thursday's match is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. CT with Saturday's tilt set for 2:00 p.m. CT in Bemidji.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Both matches will be broadcast on the NSIC Network with live stats provided by the host institutions. Links to each streaming option can be found on the SCSU Volleyball schedule page.

THURSDAY PROMOTIONS
Thursday's home match against Minnesota Duluth is the program's annual Faculty Night as the Huskies celebrate professors, administrators and staff across St. Cloud State's campus.

LET'S GO POLLING
The Huskies slit back to No. 8 in week six's AVCA Top-25 poll, their 22st consecutive week in the Top 10 dating back to the 2021 season. St. Cloud State has spent 26 weeks in the Top 10 under head coach Chad Braegelmann.

HOME SWEET HALENBECK
SCSU Volleyball has enjoyed tremendous success in the friendly confines of Halenbeck Hall, going 36-7 (.837) at home since 2019 while winning 39 of their last 46 home matches.

LAST TIME OUT
The then-No. 6 Huskies (14-4, 7-2 NSIC) held off an upset-minded Sioux Falls (6-10, 2-6 NSIC) on the road Saturday afternoon in Sioux Falls, taking a five set thriller 25-18, 25-19, 23-25, 17-25 and 15-13. SCSU posted a season best 18.0 blocks, leaning on a playmaking defense to grind out the five set road win. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Sam Zimmerman terminated a career-high 18 kills on .410 hitting to go with a career best nine blocks while senior outside hitter Kenzie Foley put away 20 kills on .317 hitting alongside 11 digs and four blocks. Freshman middle blocker Hannah Bruskiewicz added 11 kills to mark a third Husky in double figures. Junior libero Keely Kurschner led all players with 18 digs while sophomore setter Emma Berran recorded 54 assists, four blocks and two digs as part of a strong night. The Huskies defense forced Sioux Falls into 26 attacking errors and aced them seven times with three courtesy of Foley.

NAVIGATING THE NORTHERN SUN
The Huskies are 56-13 in league play dating back to 2019 and earned the 2021 NSIC Regular Season Championship with a 19-1 campaign, adding two 15-win seasons in that span while establishing themselves as a true power in the Northern Sun. Over that span, nine of SCSU's 12 losses have been at the hands of ranked teams - speaking to the strength of the ever-competitive NSIC. SCSU has finished .500 or better in conference play for four straight seasons and have earned a top five finish in three consecutive campaigns.

DYNAMIC DEFENSE
The Huskies' defense has been nothing short of incredible through their first 18 matches of 2023, limiting opponents to just 10.16 kills/set on .158 hitting and a .312 kill percentage. SCSU has allowed the fewest kills/set in the Northern Sun while boasting the No. 3 hitting percentage defense in the league, adding the seventh-most digs across the conference at 14.93 a set. In conference play the Huskies boast the No. 1 opponent kills defense (10.00/set), the No. 3 hitting percentage defense (.155) and the No. 3 serve receive (1.03 opp. aces/set).

EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE
St. Cloud State enters week five with one of the most terminal offenses in all of NCAA DII Volleyball, sending down 14.56 kills per set on .246 hitting while boasting an incredible .414 kill percentage. The club's K/S mark ranks sixth in the nation while their hitting percentage is No. 25 across the NCAA. SCSU's current kills per set and kill percentage marks would both be the program's highest since the Huskies produced respective marks of 14.78 in 2003 under Patricia Mickow and .422 in 1998 under Dianna Glowatzke.

ALL HAIL QUEEN KENZIE
Senior outside hitter Kenzie Foley is enjoying a tremendous third collegiate season, averaging 4.92 kills and 5.41 points per set on .289 hitting with a whopping .462 kill percentage. Defensively, Foley is the club's top passer in serve receive with a .979 reception percentage while producing 3.10 digs per set, second-best on the team. Her .979 mark in serve receive would set a new program record, besting Taylor Olstad's .975 recorded in 2019. She leads the NSIC in points, kills, points/set and kills/set while landing third nationally in kills per set and points per set.

DIRECTING THE ATTACK
Sophomore setter Emma Berran is continuing her rise as one of the nation's best at her position, entering the weekend third in the NCAA and second in the conference with 11.66 assists per set. The Huskies own a .420 kill percentage on her sets and have each of their five qualifying hitters recording 1.90 or more kills per set. SCSU has hit below .200 in a match just twice this season and ranks among the nation's top teams in both kill/set and hitting percentage.

LEGEND STATUS
Senior outside Kenzie Foley continues to ascend the Huskies' program leaderboards for career kills and points. Foley enters the weekend 57 kills away from reaching Lisette Hayden (1990-93) for fifth all-time while standing just 45.0 points from reaching GiGi DesLauriers (1988-91) for eighth. The two-time AVCA All-American and 2021 AVCA National Freshman of the Year is just 71 digs away from reaching 1,000 in that category.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Volleyball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

No. 8 Huskies Volleyball to Host No. 12 Bulldogs, Visit Bemidji State

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Players Mentioned

Emma Berran

Hannah Bruskiewicz

Kenzie Foley

Keely Kurschner

Sam Zimmerman

Saint Cloud State University Athletics