No. 6 Huskies Volleyball Falls in Four to No. 8 SMSU

Friday, October 6

Marshall, Minn.

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

13-4,6-2NSIC

Southwest Minnesota State

13-2,6-1NSIC

St. Cloud St.

Southwest Minn. St.

10/6/2023 11:50:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

St. Cloud State hits .162 in defensive battle with Mustangs

MARSHALL, Minn. – No. 6 St. Cloud State Volleyball (13-4, 6-2 NSIC) fell in four sets on the road at No. 8 Southwest Minnesota State (13-2, 6-1 NSIC) on Friday evening in Marshall, dropping the match 25-20, 17-25, 22-25 and 20-25. The Huskies struggled to limit errors, committing 30 attacking errors to the Mustangs' 19 as the tight battle between the NSIC giants saw the two clubs earn 63.0 and 64.0 points respectively.

Senior outside hitter Kenzie Foley led all players with 24 kills, adding 13 digs for her eighth double-double of the season alongside an ace, two blocks and an assist. Freshman middle blocker Hannah Bruskiewicz enjoyed a terrific match with 14 kills on .500 hitting to go with four blocks and two digs. Sophomore setter Emma Berran provided 44 assists, six digs and a block while terminating three of her five attacks to hit .600 on the evening.

The Huskies took the opening set 25-20 behind a dominant eight kill effort from Foley, adding four stuff blocks while limiting SMSU to a .000 hitting percentage on nine kills and nine errors. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Sam Zimmerman and freshman outside hitter Shelby Kimm posted three and two block assists respectively in the frame as part of the strong SCSU effort.

St. Cloud State committed 10 attacking errors with just eight kills as Southwest blocked their swings five times in the second set, dropping the frame 25-17. Six kills from Foley and five on .714 hitting from Bruskiewicz in the third set kept things close, but SCSU couldn't slow down the Mustangs' attack as they fell 25-22 in a game that saw the score draw even 14 times with four lead changes.

The decisive fourth set provided another battle as Foley and Bruskiewicz combined for 13 of the Huskies' 15 kills. St. Cloud State struggled to terminate beyond those two options and sided out in a match-low 56% of their chances, dropping the set and the match 25-20.

QUOTABLES – St. Cloud State head coach Chad Braegelmann

"That was a hard-fought battle with a top 10 team in the country. I thought Southwest did a fantastic job defensively – hands were in front of our hitters' faces throughout the match, they blocked a ton of balls – they make you compete and earn points. They did a really good job of getting us frustrated and they made enough plays in that gym when they needed to.

"It absolutely had the feel of a postseason match – it's a loud gym, they had a lot of fans there and it's an up-close, in-your-face setting. We don't get to play top 10 teams every week, but we're fortunate enough in our league to see them pretty often. You come to our league to play for a successful team and to play against other successful teams."

"I thought we did a good job overall of scoring points tonight – our defense was pretty good at times – we just have to be a little bit better at getting our hands in our opponents' faces when they are attacking. Slowing down some balls and being a little more terminal with all five attackers. Being more consistent all the way through – limiting errors and making our opponents earn points."

NOTABLES

Kenzie Foley recorded a 24 kill, 13 dig double-double for her eighth of the season while adding two blocks and an ace
Hannah Bruskiewicz hit .500 with 14 kills, four blocks and two digs
Junior libero Keely Kurschner posted 18 digs while going 37-for-38 in serve receive (.974)
Freshman defensive specialist Annika Forbes went a career-best 20-for-20 in serve receive
Emma Berran recorded 44 assists, six digs, three kills and a block
Sam Zimmerman provided four blocks alongside six kills
The Huskies outkilled SMSU 54 to 51 but were outhit .162 to .230

UP NEXT
The Huskies travel west for a Saturday tilt with Sioux Falls at the Stewart Center with a 2:00 p.m. CT first serve. The match will be broadcast 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.