Foley’s Monster Night Powers No. 7 St. Cloud State Volleyball to Sweep of No. 14 Seawolves

Friday, September 1

Anchorage, Alaska

10:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

3-0,0-0NSIC

Alaska Anchorage

2-4,0-0Great Northwest

St. Cloud St.

Alas. Anchorage

Senior outside hitter Kenzie Foley (back) and junior libero Keely Kurschner (front) celebrate a point during St. Cloud State's win over No. 14 Alaska Anchorage on Sep. 1, 2023 at the Alaska Airlines Center

Foley’s Monster Night Powers No. 7 St. Cloud State Volleyball to Sweep of No. 14 Seawolves

9/1/2023 10:30:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Foley records 17-kill double-double as Huskies snap UAA’s 16-match home win streak

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – No. 7 St. Cloud State Volleyball (3-0, 0-0 NSIC) caught fire late in the second set to sweep No. 14 Alaska Anchorage (2-4, 0-0 GNAC) Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage on Friday evening, taking the match 25-17, 25-21 and 25-18. Senior outside hitter Kenzie Foley enjoyed a monster performance, terminating 17 kills on .429 hitting with 11 digs for her first double-double of the season. The Huskies snapped Anchorage's 16-match home win streak dating back to 2021 while earning their first ranked win of the season.

St. Cloud State outhit Anchorage .281 to .115, outkilled them 46 to 28 and scored 54.0 points compared to their opponents' 34.0.

Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Sam Zimmerman added 10 kills on .304 with two blocks while freshman middle blocker Hannah Bruskiewicz hit .412 with eight kills and a block. Freshman Abby Wachal stepped into playing time at the opposite in the second set, thumping down six kills on .556 hitting. Sophomore setter Emma Berran enjoyed another terrific match, handing out a season-best 41 assists with four digs and a block as her hitters converted on 43.2% of her sets.

Junior libero Keely Kurschner dug out 15 swings for the second time in as many matches, adding a season-high five assists. Freshman outside Shelby Kimm recorded a career-high 10 digs and three aces alongside five kills and a block as part of the Huskies' win.

Foley provided five kills and six digs in the first frame as SCSU held the Seawolves to six kills and forced them into six attacking errors, outhitting them .156 to .000 in a rugged defensive battle. The Huskies piled up 20 digs in the opening set as Kurschner and Kimm added five and four each with three courtesy of senior defensive specialist Allena Shimon.

After falling behind 20-15 late in the second set, Foley took over to fuel a 10-1 set-sealing run by the Huskies. SCSU's All-American outside put away seven kills on .462 hitting and added a block in the set, scoring five of St. Cloud State's last seven points.

The Huskies offense roared into gear in the third, producing 17 kills on 30 swings with zero errors for a scintillating .567 hitting percentage. Berran dished out 16 assists as Foley and Zimmerman both terminated five kills while Wachal scored on each of her four swings. Each of Berran's five hitters hit .250 or better and took at least four swings in a well-balanced frame.

QUOTABLES – St. Cloud State head coach Chad Braegelmann

"A tough Alaska Anchorage team. They look way different than they did last year, losing quite a few women that had a lot of success with that program, but they put some pressure on us – especially in that second set. We challenged our ladies a little bit to respond, knowing we're going to be in bad spots sometimes throughout the year. I liked the way we responded, then really finished them off to hit a blistering .500-something in the third. I'm really proud of the effort we had tonight. We moved some lineups around, playing a bunch of different people to help develop our depth and see what works best for our team."

On handling a hostile road environment… "I thought they did a fantastic job. We had to take some deep breaths in the huddle at times – sometimes you get down five and you start worrying about trying to make 'five-point plays.' We tell them to slow down, to just take it one point at a time. It's been fun. We've had some younger players out there for some significant time, seeing and watching them take feedback and actually putting things into play has been kind of fun as we go through this process."

On adjustments made late in the second set… "We did talk in the huddle about serving and passing better, but when you go on a 10-1 run you only pass one ball in there. We challenged them a little bit – we were going to have to serve tougher to get out of this, and we were going to have to serve in. We challenged them to stay aggressive."

QUOTABLES – St. Cloud State senior outside hitter Kenzie Foley

"Tonight was super fun. All of us are coming into each game not taking it for granted, because each point could be your last. I think we're playing really well and meshing as a team no matter who's on the floor. We came in tonight treating it as just another team, just another volleyball game, let's just play the way we play and control our side."

On her big performance… "I'm a team player – earlier today it was everyone killing the ball. I think the opportunity to get into some more in-system sets helped with the flow. I want to do everything I can for my team and bring the energy whether I'm in the play or not, when you are the one to get the kill or block you have to look everyone in the eye and say let's go."

On the terrific offensive display in the third… "Our passers kept us in system. Keely did a great job back there, Shelby did as well, and then we played around it. If Emma couldn't get to that second ball then that's on the rest of us to put up a great ball for the hitters. Along with that when we were in system, everyone was screaming for the route they were going to run and that held the blockers a little bit – allowing us to hit one-on-one and put the ball away."

NOTABLES

Kenzie Foley produced her first double-double of the season, going for 17 kills and 11 digs on .429 hitting with a block and an ace
Sam Zimmerman hit .304 with 10 kills, adding two blocks
Emma Berran recorded 41 assists, four digs and a block
Hannah Bruskiewicz posted eight kills on .412 hitting, adding a block
Keely Kurschner piled up 15 digs alongside five assists
Abby Wachal scored six kills in two sets on .556 hitting to go with two digs
Shelby Kimm delivered 10 digs, five kills, three aces and a block
SCSU outkilled Alaska Anchorage 46-28
The Huskies outhit their opponents .281 to .115
Through three matches, SCSU's defense has held their opponents to hit just .087 with a meager 9.33 kills per set
St. Cloud State snapped a 16-match home winning streak dating back to 2021 held by UAA
Since 2019, the Huskies are now a combined 35-15 against AVCA Top-25 opponents and opponents ranked or receiving votes

UP NEXT
The Huskies close their appearance at the Seawolves Invitational with a Saturday match against Upper Iowa at 11:30 a.m. ADT / 2:30 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.