No. 6 SCSU Volleyball Thumps Minnesota Crookston in Straight Sets

Tuesday, October 3

Crookston, Minn.

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

13-3,6-1NSIC

Minnesota Crookston

3-11,1-5NSIC

St. Cloud St.

Minn.-Crookston

No. 6 SCSU Volleyball Thumps Minnesota Crookston in Straight Sets

10/3/2023 9:15:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Huskies hit .312 with 46 kills, limit Golden Eagles to just 22 kills in dominant road win

CROOKSTON, Minn. – No. 6 St. Cloud State Volleyball (13-3, 6-1 NSIC) opened a key conference road trip by emphatically cruising past Minnesota Crookston (3-11, 1-5 NSIC) in straight sets on Tuesday evening in Crookston, taking the match 25-15, 25-17 and 25-19. The Huskies hit .312 on the evening with 46 kills while holding UMC to 22 kills on .096 hitting, leaning on a terminal offense combined with a gritty defense to improve to 6-1 in conference play.

Senior outside hitter Kenzie Foley led all players with 17 kills on .400 hitting, adding nine digs and a pair of blocks as part of a dominant effort. Foley's 13^th kill of the match – and 1187^th of her career – moved her past Leah Herrbolt (2001-04) for sixth all-time in program history as the senior's rapid climb up the Huskies career kill leaderboard continues. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Sam Zimmerman dominated with a phenomenal evening, hitting .588 with 12 kills and a pair of blocks.

The Huskies owned a .518 kill percentage on sophomore setter Emma Berran's sets as the standout piled up 43 assists to go with eight digs, three aces and a block. Multiple Huskies saw court time as SCSU worked in different lineups throughout the evening, highlighted by freshman defensive specialist Annika Forbes earning her first collegiate start and providing a career-high 11 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Emilie Planert recorded four kills on .667 hitting plus a block while appearing in two sets. Junior opposite Natalie Tesch was as efficient as ever, providing five kills in two sets on .625 hitting.

St. Cloud State's defense recorded 21 digs in the opening set while limiting Crookston to just eight kills, forcing UMC into 12 errors in a 25-15 match-opening win. Junior libero Keely Kurschner provided seven digs in the frame while Foley and Zimmerman combined for 10 of the Huskies' 13 kills – Tesch added the other three on .500 hitting.

Foley posted a 6-0-8 line in the second set while powering SCSU to a 25-17 win. She and Zimmerman each hit .750 with the latter providing three kills on four swings alongside Tesch terminating both her attack attempts. Berran kept the tempo ticking with 13 assists, directing the attack to post a .619 kill percentage on her 21 sets.

Five different Huskies recorded at least two kills in a dominant 25-19 match-clinching third set win. Berran's hitters turned in a .621 kill percentage as she converted 18 of 29 sets for assists, finding Zimmerman and Foley five times each. Freshman outside hitter Shelby Kimm hit .429 with four kills on seven swings and went 5-for-5 in serve receive during the frame.

QUOTABLES – St. Cloud State head coach Chad Braegelmann

"Midweek road matches are always a challenge, especially when they're over four hours away. I thought we did a nice job of being prepared, making the plays we needed to make in critical situations and were balanced enough offensively to be effective when it was all said and done. A lot of people saw court time tonight, we saw some good things and once again our defense led the way for us."

"Tonight we had 46 kills, we dug 53 balls – we had some opportunities to get some extra swings and really put some pressure on Crookston by defending and getting some great scoring opportunities on those digs. I thought overall we did a really good job of providing our setter options with good digs and passes that allowed our offensive options to expand."

"I thought Emma did a really good job of forcing the tempo. We tried to hit a few more balls down the line, she did a great job of forcing the ball with tempo to the pin so we could get some line swings. She did a nice job of finding one-on-ones – Crookston had a tendency to bunch block with their hands a little tighter, so we were able to force the ball down the line and get some kills that way."

NOTABLES

Kenzie Foley sent down 17 kills on .400 hitting while adding nine digs and two blocks
Foley moved into sixth all-time in career kills with her 13^th of the night, passing Leah Herrbolt (2001-04)
Sam Zimmerman hit .588 with 12 kills, two blocks and a pair of digs
Emma Berran directed the offense with 43 assists, adding eight digs and three aces plus a block
Berran's hitters posted a .518 kill percentage on her sets
Natalie Tesch hit .625 with five kills
Emilie Planert recorded a career-high four kills on .667 hitting with one block and a dig
Annika Forbes set a career mark with 11 digs alongside one ace
Shelby Kimm terminated four kills on .333 hitting with five digs and a block
Keely Kurschner provided 11 digs
The Huskies outkilled Minnesota Crookston 46 to 22 and outhit their opponent .312 to .096
SCSU has held their opponents below .100 hitting five times this season including four times in their last six matches
The Huskies have limited their opponent to an attack percentage of .189 or lower in 14 of 16 matches this season

UP NEXT
The Huskies look ahead to road matches at No. 8 Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls on Friday and Saturday respectively. Both matches can be found on the NSIC Network with coverage information available on the SCSU Volleyball schedule page.

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