No. 3 St. Cloud State Volleyball Opens 2025 in British Columbia, Washington at Western Washington Invitational

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 3 St. Cloud State Volleyball (0-0 overall, 0-0 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) will begin its 2025 season in British Columbia and Washington at the Western Washington Invitational with four games over three days.

The Huskies will face off against three teams who were ranked/receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/TARAFLEX Division II Preseason Poll, including a top four tilt against No. 4 San Francisco State. Additionally, SCSU will play its first ever match in Canada when it travels to Burnaby, British Columbia to play (RV) Simon Fraser in its season-opener on Thursday.

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FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
Match 1* @ (RV) Simon Fraser (British Columbia) – Thursday, Sept. 4 / 7 p.m. CT / Livestream ($) / Live Stats
Match 2 vs. #4 San Francisco State (Calif.) – Friday, Sept. 5 / 1 p.m. CT / Livestream ($) / Live Stats
Match 3 @ Western Washington – Friday, Sept. 5 / 9 p.m. CT / Livestream ($) / Live Stats
Match 4 vs (RV) Central Washington – Saturday, Sept. 6 / 1 p.m. CT / Livestream ($) / Live Stats

The first match* will be played in West Gym on the campus of Simon Fraser in Burnaby, British Columbia and the final three matches will be played at the WECU Court at Carver Gym on the campus of Western Washington in Bellingham, Washington. All four matches will be streamed on the GNAC Network, which requires a paid subscription.

Links to each coverage option can also be found on the St. Cloud State Volleyball schedule page.

SEASON PREVIEW
St. Cloud State Volleyball was selected to finish first in the 2025 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll. Additionally, reigning American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) second team All-American, redshirt senior middle blocker Ella Thompson (Lakeville, Minn.) was named the Preseason Player of the Year for the conference.

The defending NSIC Regular Season and Tournament Champion Huskies amassed 212 points in the poll, including eight of the 16 first place votes, earning the top spot in the preseason poll for the first time in program history.

Rounding out the top five behind the Huskies is Concordia-St. Paul (2^nd, 208 points, four first place votes), Southwest Minnesota State (3^rd, 202 points, four first place votes), Wayne State (4^th, 188 points) and Northern State (5^th, 170 points).

"Once again, I'm impressed with the work that these women have put in, throughout the spring, competitive season, and the off-season," said head coach Chad Braegelmann. "They continue to improve as volleyball players, students of the game and as role models to the young girls that watch our sport. I am excited to see some new players step up into bigger roles, this fall and am excited for the combination of experience and youth that we look to roster this fall."

Braegelmann enters his 10th competitive season at the helm of St. Cloud State Volleyball and his 24th season overall as a collegiate head coach in 2025 (*note – no season was held in 2020-21 due to the global pandemic). His record at SCSU is 179-95 (.653) including an 107-69 (.608) mark in NSIC play after leading last year's team to a 29-3 record (18-0 NSIC).

Last season, he was tabbed as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Coach of the Year and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Central Region Coach of the Year. It was the third time (2019, 2021) he was named NSIC Coach of the Year, and first time being named a regional coach of the year. It was the first time in SCSU Volleyball history that a coach earned regional coach of the year honors.

On the court, the Huskies return four of six starters from last year's team, headlined by Thompson, the 2025 NSIC Preseason Player of the Year and fellow reigning AVCA All-American, senior setter Emma Berran (Inver Grove Heights, Minn).

In her first season playing for SCSU in 2024, Thompson was a first team All-Central Region selection by the AVCA and a second team all-region pick by the D2CCA. The Lakeville native was a first team All-NSIC selection and was named to the NCAA Central Region All-Tournament Team, the NSIC Tournament All-Tournament Team and the UP North Tournament All-Tournament Team. The middle blocker finished the regular season No. 30 among DII players in hitting percentage and was top six among NSIC players in hitting percentage, points/set, kills/set and total kills.

"Ella is fantastic offensively and does not get cheated on her swings," said Braegelmann. "She is very intense on the volleyball court and has grown in her knowledge of the game. Her energy on the court is contagious."

Last season, Berran became the first setter in program history to become a multiple time All-American and became just the fourth player in program history to be named an All-American in more than one season. She was also named to the All-Central Region First Team by the AVCA. Additionally, the Inver Grove Heights product was a First Team All-NSIC pick and was selected to the NCAA Central Region All-Tournament Team, the NSIC Tournament All-Tournament Team and the Yotes Classic Showdown All-Tournament Team. She currently ranks No. 4 in career assists in program history and became the first player in SCSU Volleyball history to surpass 1,000 assists in each of her first three seasons. She finished the regular season No. 6 in assists/set and No. 7 in total assists among DII players while ranking second in both assists/set and total assists among NSIC players this season.

In addition to the two All-Americans, SCSU returns Second Team All-NSIC Selection and NCAA Central Region All-Tournament Team member, junior middle blocker Hannah Bruskiewicz (Rogers, Minn.), NSIC All-Tournament Team pick, junior outside hitter Shelby Kimm (North Liberty, Iowa) and 2023 First Team All-NSIC Selection, graduate student middle blocker Sam Zimmerman (Moorhead, Minn.). The Huskies also return a pair of defensive specialists who played in 95+ of the team's 113 sets last season in senior Emily Kern (Belgrade, Minn.) and junior Annika Forbes (Cottage Grove, Minn.).

WELCOME TO THE PACK
The Huskies welcomed three newcomers to the team this fall (all freshmen): setter/opposite Asta Hildebrand (North Liberty, Iowa / Liberty HS), middle blocker Kendall Huhnerkoch (Redwood Falls, Minn. / Redwood Valley HS) and outside hitter/defensive specialist Emery Thury (Watertown, S.D. / Watertown HS).

LET'S GO POLLING
SCSU opens 2025 with its highest ever preseason ranking (No. 3), after tying its best final ranking (No. 5), to end the 2024 season.

Last season, St. Cloud State was ranked inside the top-12 of every poll. The Huskies began last season at No. 10 in the preseason poll and after week four, spent the remainder of the season in the top 5. In the week seven poll, SCSU tied its best ranking in program history, No. 3, and held that spot for two weeks before rising to No. 2, the highest ranking in program history for four weeks. The Huskies also tied their best final ranking – No. 5.

Under the direction of Head Coach Chad Braegelmann, the program has been ranked for 69 consecutive weeks (including 45 weeks in the top 10), dating back to the 2019 season. The Huskies have spent a total of 143 weeks in the AVCA top 20/25 Poll in program history, including 70 weeks in the top 10.

SCSU in the 2025 AVCA DII National Poll
#3 – Preseason

RECORD BOOK CHECK
After the historic 2024 season, many updates have been made to the record book. Click the link below to access the updated version.

Updated Record Book

SERIES HISTORY
The Huskies have played Simon Fraser three times (1-2, last in 2021), San Francisco State twice (2-0, last in 1990) and Central Washington twice (0-2, last in 2023). SCSU and Western Washington have never met on the volleyball court before.

A LOOK BACK AT THE HISTORIC 2024 SEASON
SCSU is coming off one of the program's most historic and record-breaking seasons. The Huskies set numerous program records including fewest losses in a season (3), longest win streak (25), highest AVCA national poll ranking (No. 2), best conference record (18-0), best 20 match start (18-2). Sixteen of SCSU's 29 wins came against teams ranked/receiving votes in the AVCA Poll, including seven top-10 victories. All 18 of the Huskies sweeps came in the last 23 matches.

St. Cloud State made its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament and 10th overall in program history while being selected to host an NCAA Division II Volleyball Regional Tournament for the first time in program history. SCSU won its third NSIC Tournament Championship in program history, while making its fifth straight NSIC Tournament Championship match and moved to 13-2 (.867) all-time in NSIC Tournament matches. It was the first time St. Cloud State hosted the NSIC semifinals/championship match. For the third time in program history the Huskies finished conference play undefeated. SCSU also became just the third NSIC team to post a perfect conference season since 2011. St. Cloud State won its fourth regular season conference championship in program history.

Braegelmann was tabbed as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Coach of the Year and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Central Region Coach of the Year. It was the third time (2019, 2021) he was named NSIC Coach of the Year, and first time being named a regional coach of the year. It was the first time in SCSU Volleyball history that a coach had earned regional coach of the year honors.

The 2025 Huskies Volleyball Season Ticket Package is available now and can be purchased/renewed for $70/seat on SCSUTickets.com or by calling 320-308-2137. The package includes a general admission ticket to each of the 10 regular season home matches.

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