No. 7 SCSU Volleyball Earns Gritty Win Over Upper Iowa to Close Seawolf Invitational

Saturday, September 2

Anchorage, Alaska

2:30 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

4-0,0-0NSIC

Upper Iowa

2-2,0-0GLVC

St. Cloud St.

Upper Iowa

Senior outside hitter Kenzie Foley (center) celebrates a kill during St. Cloud State's win over Upper Iowa on Sep. 2, 2023 at the Alaska Airlines Center

No. 7 SCSU Volleyball Earns Gritty Win Over Upper Iowa to Close Seawolf Invitational

9/2/2023 6:55:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Foley sends down 22 kills with 17 digs, Kurschner-led defense holds Peacocks to hit just .135

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – No. 7 St. Cloud State Volleyball (4-0, 0-0 NSIC) received a vintage double-double performance from senior outside hitter Kenzie Foley as the Huskies downed Upper Iowa (2-2, 0-0 GLVC) in four sets at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska on Saturday afternoon, taking the match 25-20, 23-25, 25-20 and 25-18. Foley's 22 kill, 17 dig effort was backed by 13 kills and five blocks on .367 hitting from redshirt sophomore Sam Zimmerman and 11 kills courtesy of freshman outside hitter Abby Wachal.

The Huskies close the Seawolf Invitational with a 4-0 record and a 12-1 mark in sets, earning three straight-set wins in addition to their four-setter over Upper Iowa.

SCSU outhit the Peacocks .201 to .125 while outkilling them 63 to 39. Junior libero Keely Kurschner provided a match-high 21 digs as the Huskies piled up 74 total, averaging 18.5 a set. Sophomore setter Emma Berran matched Foley with her second double-double of the season, recording 47 assists and 10 digs to go with four blocks and an ace.

Foley and Zimmerman fueled the Huskies offense in the opening set as the former hammered down 10 kills on .368 hitting while the latter hit .500 on eight swings with four kills. Kurschner dug out eight swings as she and the SCSU defense limited Upper Iowa to just seven kills and a .054 hitting percentage.

After Upper Iowa took the second set 25-23, a nine-point service run by senior defensive specialist Allena Shimon early in the third helped the Huskies build a seven point lead that they would not lose on their way to the 2-1 match advantage. Wachal scored five kills in the set to support Shimon's two aces while Zimmerman and Foley added four each.

Berran helped the offense find balance in the decisive fourth set as freshman middle blocker Hannah Bruskiewicz hit .500 with three kills and junior opposite Natalie Tesch added two on .333 hitting. Foley and Wachal combined for seven kills to seal the match, closing out the fourth set 25-18.

The SCSU defense impressed throughout the tournament, holding their opponents to just 9.46 kills per set on .102 hitting while averaging 16.1 digs a set. Kenzie Foley shined with 4.85 kills, 5.04 points and 3.00 digs a set while hitting .307 across the four matches while Sam Zimmerman posted 2.85 kills, 3.46 points and 1.0 blocks on .283 hitting. Emma Berran averaged 12.15 assists a set while directing the offense to hit .251 with 15.15 kills/set on a .408 kill percentage.

QUOTABLES – St. Cloud State head coach Chad Braegelmann

"Playing an Upper Iowa team that we obviously know a lot about up here in Alaska – Aaron gets those women to play hard. They dig balls, you saw a ton of long rallies tonight. We reminded the team that was going to happen, but it's still hard – it's frustrating. You hit so many swings you think should score, but they keep it up. It's a fantastic team on the other side, they're very experienced and put a lot of pressure on us."

On the importance of playing gritty matches early… "Especially with all the young players we have, there's times again today where we have three or four freshmen out there along with a few sophomores and juniors that haven't seen much time. You want to get experience in situations that make you uncomfortable, and we were certainly uncomfortable for large parts of the match today."

On the impressive performances from the Huskies' hitters… "They did a really nice job today. It was fun to watch the set distribution. Obviously Kenzie's going to get a lot of swings for us this year, she point-scores at a high level. Sam struggled a bit in the first match, but since then she's been much more aggressive and explosive. It's been fun to try some different things and see what might help us be the best we can be."

What he's learned about the team through Opening Weekend… "We're definitely going to keep fighting. We're going to make some decisions and put ourselves in positions on the court that maybe we haven't over the last few years with the experience that we used to have. Seeing some younger players learn our system and what decisions to make on the court, it's been fun – they've been like sponges. They're listening, they're definitely getting better and they're understanding the pace, intensity and things we need them to do to be successful."

QUOTABLES – St. Cloud State redshirt sophomore middle blocker Sam Zimmerman

"Tonight's match was super fun – Upper Iowa extended a lot of rallies, so it was exciting to go back-and-forth a little bit. It was just really fun to play together as a team."

On matching her career high with five block assists… "I was really trusting my pin blockers, knowing they were going to set a good block for me. I just had to get there and try to close to them. I'll hand it to them, they helped me out a lot. Just making sure I'm clamping over and pressing hard."

On her strong offensive showing… "Over this weekend here in Alaska, we learned to trust each other a lot more. Knowing that she's going to give me a good, hittable ball – and my back row is there to cover behind me."

Looking back at the weekend… "It's great. Getting to just come here and play volleyball is amazing. Everybody would rather play games than practice, so we're really trying to use that and learn what we're going to do. Lots of different people are out there, but I know we trust each other and their abilities. We just want to go out there and show people who the St. Cloud State Huskies are."

NOTABLES

Kenzie Foley terminated 22 kills on .260 hitting while adding 17 digs and a block, recording her second double-double of the year
Foley is now just two kills away from her 1,000^th career kill
Sam Zimmerman hit .367 while tying her career highs with 13 kills and five block assists
Abby Wachal put away 11 kills with six digs and a block
Keely Kurschner posted 21 digs and four assists
Emma Berran double-doubled for the second time this season with 47 assists and 10 digs, adding four blocks and an ace
Hannah Bruskiewicz provided seven kills and a block
Allena Shimon scored twice from the service line and added a career-high six digs
St. Cloud State outkilled Upper Iowa 63-39 and outhit them .201 to .135
SCSU recorded a season-high 74 digs in the match

UP NEXT
The Huskies will return to action on Thursday, September 7 at the Up North Preseason Tournament in Duluth with a 5:00 p.m. CT match against Northern Michigan at Romano Gymnasium.

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.