No. 6 St. Cloud State Volleyball Sweeps Augustana to Close Homestand

Saturday, September 30

St. Cloud, Minn.

2:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

12-3,5-1NSIC

Augustana

5-8,2-3NSIC

Augustana (SD)

St. Cloud St.

Sophomore setter Emma Berran sets the ball during St. Cloud State's win over Augustana on Sept. 30, 2023 at Halenbeck Hall

Photo by: Ethan Halverson

No. 6 St. Cloud State Volleyball Sweeps Augustana to Close Homestand

9/30/2023 6:05:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Huskies terminate 47 kills as all five hitters post at least six in straight-set win

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 6 St. Cloud State Volleyball (12-3, 5-1 NSIC) relied on a balanced offensive attack to take down Augustana (5-8, 2-3 NSIC) in straight sets at Halenbeck Hall on Saturday Afternoon, taking the match 25-23, 25-17 and 25-21. The Huskies saw each of their five hitters post at least six kills as both senior outside hitter Kenzie Foley and freshman middle blocker Hannah Bruskiewicz finished in double figures.

Sophomore setter Emma Berran enjoyed a terrific afternoon directing the Huskies offense, posting 42 assists to go with eight digs, three aces, three blocks and a kill. SCSU terminated on 44.2% of Berran's sets with Foley providing a 14 kill, 14 dig double-double and Bruskiewicz sending down 10 kills on .474 hitting. Freshman outside hitter Shelby Kimm hit .300 with nine kills and nine digs, redshirt sophomore Sam Zimmerman posted seven kills and two blocks while junior opposite Natalie Tesch put down six kills on .267 hitting.

The Huskies defense held Augustana to 31 kills on .154 hitting, limiting an opponent to below .200 hitting for the 13^th time in 15 matches this fall. Junior libero Keely Kurschner dug out 12 swings while adding two assists and an ace, quarterbacking the defensive effort.

St. Cloud State's offense was as balanced as ever in the opening set as Berran assisted on 17 of the team's 18 kills and recorded a 50.0% assist percentage. No hitter took more than nine swings while each earned at least five attacks as Kimm led all players with five kills in the set. Eight unforced SCSU errors kept Augustana in the set before SCSU settled in to earn a 25-23 win.

SCSU opened the second set on an 8-1 run and didn't look back, taking the middle frame 25-17. Foley sent down six kills while Zimmerman and Bruskiewicz each added three. Kurschner piled up seven digs as the Huskies held Augustana to 10 kills on .135 hitting in the set.

The Vikings battled back in the third – drawing the score even 13 times with seven lead changes – but St. Cloud State found separation with an eight-point service run by senior defensive specialist Allena Shimon at 16-16 to close out a 25-21 match-clinching win. Kimm and Foley sent home four kills in the set as Shimon, Foley and Kurschner each posted four digs.

QUOTABLES – St. Cloud State head coach Chad Braegelmann

"A tough Augustana team – they put a ton of pressure on us and really challenged us in that third set. I was really proud of our defensive effort. We did a good job of limiting them – they've been pretty efficient recently – so I thought our defensive players did a good job. We served tough and kept them out of system, that certainly helped from a defensive standpoint. A great team win for our group today."

"I really liked setting Hannah, especially in transition today – she scored a bunch of times in transition. We talked to Emma about forcing the middles in the second set to be more intentional there, got some one-on-ones and Hannah jumped high, hit hard and deep into the court. The set distribution was pretty even and I thought Emma did a really good job."

NOTABLES

Kenzie Foley double-doubled for the eighth time this season on the strength of 14 kills and 14 digs, adding one ace
Foley moved past Sheri Mandell (1986-89) for seventh all-time in career kills
Emma Berran handed out 42 assists to go with eight digs, three blocks, three aces and a kill
Hannah Bruskiewicz hit .474 with 10 kills, a block and one ace
Shelby Kimm sent down nine kills on .300 hitting while adding nine digs and a block
Sam Zimmerman posted seven kills and two blocks
Keely Kurschner recorded 12 digs, two assists and an ace
Natalie Tesch hit .267 with six kills
The Huskies outhit Augustana .250 to .154 and outkilled them 47 to 31
SCSU scored seven aces on the afternoon

UP NEXT
The Huskies look ahead to a three match road trip beginning Tuesday, October 3 at Minnesota Crookston before visiting No. 8 Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls on October 6-7.

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