Dynamic Defense Helps No. 7 Huskies Volleyball Sweep Florida Tech

Friday, September 1

Anchorage, Alaska

2:30 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

2-0,0-0NSIC

Florida Tech

0-1,0-0Sunshine State

Florida Tech

St. Cloud St.

Freshman outside hitter Shelby Kimm (20) celebrates a point in St. Cloud State's win over Florida Tech on Sep. 1, 2023 at the Alaska Airlines Center

Dynamic Defense Helps No. 7 Huskies Volleyball Sweep Florida Tech

9/1/2023 6:00:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

St. Cloud State holds Panthers to hit just .019 while outkilling them 45-23

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – No. 7 St. Cloud State Volleyball (2-0, 0-0 NSIC) leaned on their high-pressure defense and a balanced offensive attack to down Florida Tech (0-1, 0-0 SSC) in straight sets at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage on Friday morning, taking the match 25-18, 25-13 and 25-21. The Huskies held Florida Tech to hit just .019 while outkilling the Panthers 45-23, forcing them into 21 attacking errors. Sophomore setter Emma Berran's well-balanced set distribution saw four Huskies hitters record at least 17 swings and average at least two kills per set.

Berran finished with 38 assists and 11 digs for her first double-double of the season to go with a career-high six aces. The Huskies' setter added three kills on four attacks with two blocks as part of a phenomenal day. Junior libero Keely Kurschner posted a match-leading 15 digs to anchor the defense and provided three assists.

Freshman outside hitter Shelby Kimm led all players with 11 kills on .286 hitting in her first collegiate start, senior outside hitter Kenzie Foley hit .400 with 10 kills and seven digs, freshman middle blocker Hannah Bruskiewicz added nine kills and three blocks while hitting .412 and redshirt sophomore middle blocker Sam Zimmerman put away eight kills with three blocks of her own.

St. Cloud State opened the match with a terrific first set, outkilling Florida Tech 15-9. Zimmerman hit .429 with four kills and a block while junior opposite Natalie Tesch added three kills on .333 hitting to lead the offense. Four Huskies blocks helped force FIT into five errors and a meager .138 hitting percentage in the set.

Bruskiewicz caught fire in the second set, hammering down four kills on five swings with zero errors. Kimm added four kills from the left pin as the SCSU defense recorded 16 digs and five blocks, holding the Panthers to four kills and forcing them into nine errors for a -.147 hitting percentage.

Berran found tremendous success setting to the left pin in the third set as Foley terminated seven kills on 10 swings with zero errors while Kimm produced a 5-1-13 line to hit .308. Bruskiewicz added three kills on .429 hitting to help support the 17-kill team effort in the set.

QUOTABLES – St. Cloud State associate head coach Marci Taumalolo

"I thought Emma Berran did a great job at the service line, setting that tone for us. We were intentional with that starting rotation to give us a little cushion right off the bat."

On the implementation of the freshmen hitters into the offense… "It's pretty exciting! We have some freshmen pins who come in as very versatile hitters who can play on both sides. We're trying to find some good rhythm with our offense, and one of our goals today was to earn a first-ball kill. We hit that in the third set – it was exciting to see our offense up and running."

On the Huskies' defense… "I thought the defensive pressure we had at the net – our block presence – was great. They slowed down the ball a lot, and Keely was in great positioning. We averaged around 16 digs a set, a very solid performance from the backcourt."

QUOTABLES – St. Cloud State sophomore setter Emma Berran

On the Huskies' strong start to the season… "In practices we've really been focusing on serve receive. We've translated what we've been doing in practice to our games – especially Keely, she's been great in serve receive. It just really helps when passes are on, then we can get good sets and our hitters can terminate the ball."

On helping her freshmen hitters adjust to the college game… "We have the same sets for everything we do, so I just remind them of things I'm seeing on the court – 'be early, swing for the ball, line's open' – just giving them pointers to focus on so they don't get so overwhelmed."

On her success at the service line… "Every time I go back to serve the ball, I just think 'this is an ace. I'm acing this one. I'm putting everything I have into this ball.' Even if it's not an ace, if I can get them out of system, that's going to be better for us in the end."

NOTABLES

Emma Berran recorded 38 assists and 11 digs for her first double-double of the season while adding a career-high six aces and two blocks
Berran's six aces lands her tied for fifth in a single match in program history
Shelby Kimm led all players with 11 kills on .286 hitting with six digs while making her first collegiate start
Kenzie Foley hit .400 with 10 kills and seven digs
Foley went 7-0-10 in the third set alone
Keely Kurschner led all players with 15 digs while adding three assists
Hannah Bruskiewicz terminated nine kills on .412 hitting with three blocks
Sam Zimmerman posted eight kills and three blocks
The Huskies outkilled Florida Tech 45-23 and outhit them .283 to .019
St. Cloud State forced FIT into 21 attacking errors
SCSU scored 58.0 points to the Panthers' 31.0

UP NEXT
The Huskies meet No. 14 Alaska Anchorage later this evening at 7:00 p.m. ADT / 10:00 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed on YouTube along with Live Stats provided by UAA. Links to both coverage options can be found on the SCSU Volleyball schedule page.

Single match and season ticket information can be found on 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.