St. Cloud State
26-6,18-2NSIC
(1) #5 Concordia-St. Paul
26-5,19-1NSIC
No. 11 St. Cloud State Volleyball Sweeps No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul on the Road to Win Second Consecutive NSIC Tournament
11/22/2025 11:14:00 PM | Volleyball
Huskies have four named to all-tournament team, win fourth tournament championship in past five seasons, punch ticket to sixth straight NCAA Tournament
ST. PAUL Minn. – No. 11 St. Cloud State Volleyball (26-6, 18-2 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) took down No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul (26-5, 19-1 NSIC) in straight sets on its own court to win its second straight NSIC Tournament Championship on Saturday evening at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul. The Huskies won their fourth tournament title in the past five seasons after sweeping the Golden Bears 29-27, 25-22, 25-15 to punch their ticket to their sixth straight NCAA Tournament and 11th in program history.
Junior outside hitter Shelby Kimm (North Liberty, Iowa), sophomore setter Braya LaPlant Grand Rapids, Minn.), redshirt senior middle blocker Ella Thompson (Lakeville, Minn.) and graduate opposite Sam Zimmerman (Moorhead, Minn.) were named to the All-Tournament Team for their outstanding performances over the three tournament matches.
TOP HUSKIES
- Kimm – 17-kill, 13-dig double-double on .279 hitting with three block assists and one solo block
- LaPlant – 45-assist, 10 dig double-double with two block assists, two aces and one solo block
- Thompson – 11 kills on 18 swings (.500 hitting percentage) with three block assists
- Zimmerman – 10 kills (.348 hitting percentage) and four digs
QUOTABLE – St. Cloud State head coach Chad Braegelmann
Tonight was a fun cap off to a very impressive week of Huskies Volleyball. To beat three teams, all ranked in the top 13 in the country, is not an easy task. The first set of tonight's match was an absolute back-and-forth battle – like a heavyweight boxing match, with blows being traded back-and-forth. I was so impressed with how our women responded to being down in that first set, and even with Concordia having multiple set points, we stayed together and we were able to make the plays needed to pull out a win in the first set. Concordia is such a strong passing team, so we had a hard time getting them out of system, but we did serve just tough enough that they couldn't set their middles quite as frequently or as often as they may have liked, so that made it easier for our defense to set up and slow down the pin attackers just a little bit for the Bears. I really think this group of young women has grown an immense amount through this season, and both are attacking and defense have been much improved. Tonight was just a fantastic finish to the NSIC season for the Huskies.
NOTABLES
- SCSU moved to 10-36 all-time against Concordia-St. Paul State and 3-15 against the Bears in St. Paul. The Huskies are now 6-5 in their last 10 matchups against CSP, but picked up their first win over the Golden Bears this season after dropping both regular season matchups. SCSU is now 3-2 against Concordia in NSIC Tournament matches. All five matches have been in the final with CSP winning in 2019 and 2023 and the Huskies winning in 2022, 2024 and 2025.
- The Huskies moved to 11-5 against teams ranked/receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) DII National Poll this season, 10-4 on the road and 19-2 in three set matches.
- SCSU improved to 16-2 (.889) all-time in NSIC Tournament matches and 4-2 in championship matches. The Huskies have reached the tournament final in each of the last six seasons which have been the only tournaments in program history.
- The Huskies had four players named to the all-tournament team for the fourth time in program history (2021, 2022, 2024, 2025).
- SCSU punched its ticket to its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament and 11th in program history after winning its fourth NSIC Tournament title in the past five seasons.
- The Huskies led the match in points (65-51), kills (53-41), hitting percentage (.278 - .192), aces (4-1), assists (49-39) and digs (62-57). The Bears led in blocks (9-8).
- SCSU's 53 kills were the most in a three set match this season and its 49 assists and 62 digs were each the second most.
- Kimm posted her 16th double-double of the season and her fourth in a row. Her 17 kills were the most in a three-set match and her 20.5 points were the most in a three-set match and tied for the fifth most in any match. It was her second time being named to the all-tournament team after last season.
- LaPlant tallied her ninth double-double of the season and her third in a row. Her 45 assists were the second most in a three-set match. It was her first time being named to the all-tournament team.
- Thompson sent down 11+ kills for the sixth time this season. It was her second time being named to the all-tournament team after last season.
- Zimmerman contributed double-digit digs for the eighth time this season and second match in a row. It was her second time being named to the all-tournament team after 2022.
- Senior middle blocker Emilie Planert (De Pere, Wis.) posted seven kills and three block assists.
- Redshirt sophomore Abby Wachal (Lincoln, Neb.) recorded seven digs and six kills.
- Senior defensive specialist Emily Kern (Belgrade, Minn.) tallied 13 digs to tie her season-high mark.
- Sophomore libero Laurin Hamann (Manitowoc, Wis.) contributed 10 digs. She has posted 10+ digs in every match this season.
UP NEXT
The Huskies have punched their ticket to the NCAA Division II Volleyball Tournament for the sixth consecutive season but await their bracket information which will be announced during the NCAA DII Volleyball selection show which airs on Monday, Nov. 24 at 6:30 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.
2025 NCAA DII women's volleyball championship information including selection show info, bracket, dates, etc.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Volleyball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
