No. 2 St. Cloud State Volleyball Sweeps Winona State, Finishes Northern Sun Play Unbeaten

Friday, November 15

St. Cloud, Minn.

6 p.m. CT

St. Cloud State

24-2,18-0NSIC

Winona State

17-11,10-7NSIC

Winona St.

St. Cloud St.

Photo by: Jonathan Rozko

No. 2 St. Cloud State Volleyball Sweeps Winona State, Finishes Northern Sun Play Unbeaten

11/15/2024 10:48:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Huskies win 20th straight match, post third perfect conference season in program history

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 2 St. Cloud State Volleyball (24-2, 18-0 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) swept Winona State (25-21, 29-27, 25-20) on Friday evening at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud to clinch its third perfect conference season in program history.

The Huskies led WSU in aces (6-5), blocks (8-7) and hitting percentage (.274 – .161). The Warriors (17-11, 10-7 NSIC) led the match in points (55-54), kills (43-40), assists (42-37). Each team recorded 47 digs.

TOP HUSKIES

Fifth year outside hitter Kenzie Foley (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa) – match-high 14 kills and seven digs
Sophomore outside hitter/opposite Shelby Kimm (North Liberty, Iowa) – 14 digs, five kills and three block assists
Redshirt junior middle blocker Ella Thompson (Lakeville, Minn.) – seven kills on .400 hitting and four block assists
Junior setter Emma Berran (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) – match high 35 assists, six digs and one solo block
Senior libero Keely Kurschner (Maplewood, Minn.) – eight digs and four service aces

QUOTABLE – St. Cloud State head coach Chad Braegelmann
"I thought Winona State dug everything tonight which really put us in some uncomfortable spots. Offensively, we did a really great job limiting our errors which was one of our focus points for the match. I was hoping we could serve a little bit tougher tonight and get them out of system more. They had some great swings and attacked our hands really well as blockers. These seniors have had an absolutely remarkable run here at St. Cloud State, with 101 wins so far in their career, which is the most of a class since the late 1980s. I am very proud of our women for finding a way to win a match against a very talented team and not many times a team finishes 18-0 in conference play."

NOTABLES

The Huskies move to 46-19 all-time against WSU, picking up their eighth straight win over the Warriors. SCSU is now 11-6 all-time against Winona State at Halenbeck Hall.
St. Cloud State completed its third perfect conference season in program history, joining the teams from 1985 (NCC) and 1982 (NSC) who each went 7-0. The Huskies became just the third NSIC team to post a perfect conference record since 2011.
It was the final regular season home match for seniors Foley, Kurschner, opposite Natalie Tesch (Milwaukee, Wis.) and middle blocker Sam Zimmerman (Moorhead, Minn.) who were honored prior to the match.
SCSU has won 20 straight matches including 10 wins over nationally ranked teams during that stretch – No. 4 Southwest Minnesota State (sweep), No. 6 Wayne State, No. 8 Concordia-St. Paul, No. 9 Concordia-St. Paul (sweep), No. 15 Minnesota Duluth (sweep), No. 20 Michigan Tech, No. 22 Northern State (sweep), No. 24 Minnesota Duluth (sweep), (RV) Minnesota State (sweep) and (RV) Minnesota State.
It is the first time SCSU has ever won 20 matches in a row. The previous longest streak of 17, was set in 2021.
All 15 of the Huskies' sweeps have come during the last 18 matches.
St. Cloud State extended its best conference start in program history (18-0).
Foley led the match in kills and was the only player with 10 or more. Her seven digs ranked fourth on the Huskies.
Kimm led the Huskies in digs and tallied the second most in the match. She was also second on the Huskies in block assists. Her three block assists tied her career high for the second match in a row. She has posted double-digit digs in 12 matches this season.
Thompson led the Huskies in block assists and had the second most kills for SCSU.
Berran led the match with 35 assists and recorded the Huskies lone solo block. She surpassed 1,000 assists on the season, becoming the first Husky to dish out 1,000+ assists in each of the first three seasons of a career and the third Husky to surpass 1,000 assists in three seasons overall.
Kurschner led the match in aces was tied for second on the Huskies in digs. She recorded her 136^th career ace, moving herself into the program's top 10 all-time list.
Junior defensive specialist Emily Kern (Belgrade, Minn.) tallied eight digs.
Sophomore middle blocker Hannah Bruskiewicz (Rogers, Minn.) sent down seven kills and recorded three block assists
Zimmerman recorded six kills and tied her career in service aces (one).

UP NEXT
The Huskies wrapped up their regular season schedule and will begin their postseason journey at home on Tuesday night in a first round (quarterfinal) NSIC Tournament match. SCSU won the regular season championship to clinch the No. 1 seed and home court advantage throughout the conference tournament. The Huskies first round opponent is still to be determined as every other Northern Sun team is in action on Saturday, but the match will begin at 6 p.m. from Halenbeck Hall regardless. Live coverage will be available on the NSIC Network with live stats provided by SCSU. Links to each coverage option are 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.