No. 13 St. Cloud State Volleyball Hosts Minnesota State, Travels to No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul in Split Weekend

Thursday, September 24

St. Cloud, Minn.

6 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Minnesota State

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Photo by: Nathaly Delgado

No. 13 St. Cloud State Volleyball Hosts Minnesota State, Travels to No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul in Split Weekend

9/23/2026 2:37:00 PM | Volleyball

Huskies host Mavericks Thursday, travel to St. Paul Saturday

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 13 St. Cloud State Volleyball (8-4 overall, 2-2 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) has its first split weekend of Northern Sun play, when it hosts Minnesota State (3-9, 1-3 NSIC) before hitting the road to play No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul (8-3, 3-1 NSIC). First serve from Halenbeck Hall on Thursday is scheduled for 6 p.m., while Saturday's top 15 showdown will start at 2 p.m. at the Ganglehoff Center in St. Paul.

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
Both matches will be streamed live on the new NSIC Network which is housed on Midco Sports Plus and requires a paid subscription*. Additionally, fans can listen to Thursday's match on the KVSC Sports Stream with KVSC talent Reece Powell (play-by-play) and Noah Grant (color) calling the action. Live stats will be provided by each home team and tickets for Thursday's match can be purchased HERE.

Match 13 vs. Minnesota State (Halenbeck Hall // St. Cloud) / Thursday, Sept. 24 / 6 p.m. / Watch ($ - NSIC Network) / Live stats / Listen (KVSC Sports Stream)
Match 14 @ #5 Concordia-St. Paul (Gangelhoff Center // St. Paul, Minn.) / Saturday, Sept. 26 / 2 p.m. / Watch ($ - NSIC Network) / Live stats

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

*NSIC Network (Midco Sports Plus) Quick Links
Homepage: https://midcosportsplus.com/?sport=5-nsic
Packages: https://midcosportsplus.com/packages
Support: https://sports.midco.com/support

MATCH DAY PROMOTIONS
Thursday, Sept. 24 vs. Minnesota State
Promotions: Huskies Hockey @ Huskies Volleyball (pre match event for hockey season ticket holders on the north balcony)

Full 2026 Promotional Schedule

SERIES HISTORY
Minnesota State
SCSU is 64-53 (.547) all-time against Minnesota State including an 8-2 mark in its last 10 meetings with the Mavericks. The Huskies have won their last seven matchups against MSU including a pair of regular season wins in 2025. SCSU is 23-20 (.535) all-time against Minnesota State at Halenbeck Hall.

Concordia-St. Paul
The Huskies are 10-37 (.213) all-time against Concordia-St. Paul but are 6-4 against CSP in the last 10 meetings. SCSU went 1-2 against the Golden Bears in 2025 with its lone win being a road sweep to claim its second consecutive NSIC Tournament Championship. Additionally, the Huskies fell in four sets to CSP on the road in the regular season and dropped a five-setter in the NCAA Sweet 16/Central Region Championship to the Bears to end its historic 2025 season. The Huskies are 3-15 (.167) all-time against CSP in St. Paul.

HOME SWEET HALENBECK
SCSU Volleyball has enjoyed tremendous success in the friendly confines of Halenbeck Hall, going 73-11 (.869) in its last 84 home matches, dating back to 2018. The Huskies are 1-1 so far this season in home matches.

LET'S GO POLLING
The Huskies moved down three spots in the Sept. 21 (week four) American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/TARAFLEX Division II Poll, to No. 13 following a 1-1 weekend of road Northern Sun play.

Concordia-St. Paul remained at No. 5 and Minnesota State is not ranked or receiving votes in the poll.

Under the direction of head coach Chad Braegelmann, SCSU Volleyball has been ranked for 86 consecutive weeks (including 53 weeks in the top 10), dating back to the 2019 season. The Huskies have spent a total of 160 weeks in the AVCA top 20/25 Poll in program history, including 78 weeks in the top 10.

SCSU owns a 49-31 (.613) record in its last 80 matches against teams ranked in the top 25 of the AVCA Poll, dating back to 2019. During that same stretch, the Huskies are 65-33 (.663) against teams ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes in the poll.

SCSU in the 2026 AVCA Coaches Poll
#5 – Preseason
#1 – Week One
#8 – Week Two
#10 – Week Three
#13 – Week Four

LAST TIME OUT // 1-1 WEEKEND, BRAEGELMANN PICKS UP CAREER WIN 500
The then-No. 10 Huskies split their first road trip of Northern Sun play, falling to then-No. 14 Southwest Minnesota State in four sets before sweeping Sioux Falls. The win over USF was the 500^th in the career of head coach Chad Braegelmann.

Notes from the matches
MATCH 11 (9-18-26): #14 SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE, 3, #10 ST. CLOUD STATE 1 (25-22, 25-15, 29-31, 25-23)

SCSU moved to 29-29 all-time against Southwest Minnesota State and 7-3 against the Mustangs in the last 10 matchups. The Huskies also moved to 5-16 all-time against SMSU in Marshall.
The Huskies moved to 0-4 against teams ranked/receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) DII National Poll this season, 1-2 in road matches and 0-1 in four set matches.
Southwest Minnesota State led the match in points (77-65), kills (66-55), blocks (7-6), assists (64-50) and digs (57-54). Each team had four aces (5-2).
Senior outside hitter Shelby Kimm (North Liberty, Iowa) posted a 15-kill, 15-dig double-double. She led the match in kills and tied for the lead in digs. It was her fifth double-double of the season and the 24^th of her career. Kimm has six matches with 10+ kills and six with 10+ digs this season. She recorded her 1,000^th career point and moved up to No. 11 on the program's all-time digs list (1,033).
Junior setter Braya LaPlant (Grand Rapids, Minn.) recorded 43 assists, eight digs and two aces. She led the match in assists and aces. Her 43 assists were tied for the second most in a match this season.
Junior outside hitter/opposite Carlie Willis (Grundy Center, Iowa) sent down 14 kills. She posted double-digit kills for the third time this season.
Senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Abby Wachal (Lincoln, Neb.) recorded 12 kills and five digs. It was her fifth match with 10+ kills this season.

Junior libero Laurin Hamann (Manitowoc, Wis.) recorded 15 digs which tied for the match high.
Junior middle blocker Kinsey Mohwinkle (Aplington, Iowa) recorded seven kills on 11 swings (.545 hitting percentage), one solo block and four block assists in three sets. She set new single match career highs in kills, digs (three), block assists (four), total blocks (five) and hitting percentage. Her five blocks were tied for the most by a Husky in a match this season and led the match.
Freshman middle blocker Alexis Heinle (Bismarck, N.D.) sent down six kills on 11 swings.
Senior middle blocker Hannah Bruskiewicz (Rogers, Minn.) surpassed 300 career sets played.

MATCH 12 (9-19-26): #10 CLOUD STATE 3, SIOUX FALLS 0 (25-11, 25-22, 25-22)

SCSU improved to 12-6 all-time against Sioux Falls and 9-1 against the Cougars in the last 10 matchups which includes a nine-match win streak. The Huskies also improved to 5-4 all-time against USF in Sioux Falls.
The Huskies improved to 2-2 in road matches and 7-2 in three set matches this season.
St. Cloud State led the match in points (58-42), kills (44-31), aces (7-3), assists (43-30) and digs (40-32). USF led in blocks (8-7).
The Huskies seven total blocks were tied for the second most in a single match this season.
Braegelmann earned his 500^th career win. He owns a 500-277 (.644) overall record including a 215-106 (.670) mark in 10 seasons at SCSU.
Kimm tallied a match-high 10 kills (.333 hitting percentage) and seven digs. She sent down 10+ kills for the seventh time this season and the second consecutive match.
LaPlant contributed a match-high 38 assists and four digs.
Sophomore outside hitter Emery Thury (Watertown, S.D.) posted seven kills on 12 swings (.417 hitting percentage) in two sets.
Willis recorded eight kills, four digs and three total blocks which tied her single match career high.
Mohwinkle sent down a career-high eight kills (.353 hitting percentage)
Wachal posted a match high nine digs and five kills.
Hamann tallied eight digs and a match-high three aces.
Junior opposite Mollie Hobson (McHenry, Ill.) contributed three digs and two aces.
Heinle recorded career-highs in solo blocks (one), block assists (two) and total blocks (three).

NCAA (TOP 30) / NSIC (TOP 3) TEAM STATISTICAL RANKINGS
(as of 9/22)

NCAA
- No. 2 – assists/set (13.83)
- No. 8 – kills/set (14.32)
NSIC
- No. 2 – assists/set (13.83)

NCAA (TOP 50) / NSIC (TOP 10) INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS
(as of 9/22)

Junior libero Laurin Hamann
- NSIC
  - No. 6 – digs/set (4.20)
  - No. 7 – digs (172)
Senior outside hitter Shelby Kimm
- NSIC
  - No. 7 – attacks/set (8.89)
  - No. 8 – kills/set (3.37)
  - No. 9 – points/set (3.66)
  - No. 10 – digs/set (3.63)
Junior setter Braya LaPlant
- NCAA
  - No. 6 – assists/set (10.97)
  - No. 49 – assists (406)
- NSIC
  - No. 3 – assists/set (10.97)
  - No. 5 – assists (406)

NO. 1 IN THE NATION FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER
For the first time in program history, SCSU Volleyball took the top spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)-Taraflex Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll on Aug. 31 when the organization released its Week One poll. The Huskies received 21 of the possible 47 first place votes and moved up four spots from its No. 5 spot in the preseason poll to No. 1 after starting the season 4-0 at the UP North Tournament in Marquette, Michigan.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM HUSKIES
UP North Tournament (Aug. 27-28 // Northern Michigan // Marquette, Mich. // Vandament Arena)

Senior outside hitter Shelby Kimm (North Liberty, Iowa)
Junior libero Laurin Hamann (Manitowoc, Wis.)

Buccaneer Invitational (Sept. 3-5 // Barry // Miami Shores, Fla. // Health & Sports Center)

Senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Abby Wachal (Lincoln, Neb.)

SEASON PREVIEW
SCSU was picked to finish third in the 2026 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the league office on Aug. 5. Additionally, reigning American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Second Team All-American, senior outside hitter Shelby Kimm (North Liberty, Iowa) was named the Huskies 'Player to Watch'.

NSIC RELEASE

The Huskies (3^rd, 199 points, two first place votes), who earned a top-four preseason ranking for the sixth consecutive season, were preceded in the poll by Concordia-St. Paul (1^st, 220 points, 11 first place votes) and Wayne State (2^nd, 207 points, three first place votes) and followed by Southwest Minnesota State (4^th, 177 points) and Sioux Falls (5^th, 158 points) who round out the top five. It was also the fifth time in the last six years that SCSU received first place votes.

Last season, SCSU finished third in the Northern Sun regular season standings before going on to win its second consecutive conference tournament championship and fourth in the last five seasons after taking down the No. 13, No. 2 and No. 5 teams in the country.

"With the graduation of six players from last year's roster, it has been extremely fun to watch new leaders grow and develop," said head coach Chad Braegelmann. "There will be opportunities for younger players to get out on the floor, to showcase the improvement that they made over the spring and summer, and it will be fun to see this team form their own identity again, as we hope to make another fun postseason run."

Braegelmann, who is entering year 12 as the Huskies head coach and year 26 as a collegiate head coach in 2026, is approaching 500 career wins. He owns an overall record of 492-273 (.643) and an impressive 207-102 (.670) record at SCSU which includes a 125-71 (.638) mark in conference play.

Last season, Braegelmann led SCSU to a 28-7 (18-2 NSIC) record which included the program's sixth consecutive (11^th overall) NCAA Tournament berth and second straight (fourth overall) trip to an NCAA region championship match after beating No. 17 Missouri Western and No. 2 and tournament host, Nebraska Kearney, on their home court. Last season the Huskies also tied the program record for NCAA Tournament wins in a season (two), were ranked inside the top 16 of every AVCA Poll (including tying the program record final ranking of No. 5) and earned wins over 13 ranked opponents including four against top five teams.

On the court, the Huskies return four starters from last year's team, headlined by a pair of AVCA Second Team All-Americans – Kimm and junior setter Braya LaPlant (Grand Rapids, Minn.).

In her breakout junior season in 2025, Kimm not only earned the first all-America recognition of her career but also the first all-region and all-conference honors after averaging 3.88 points, 3.47 digs, 3.40 kills and 0.46 blocks per set throughout the season.

The North Liberty, Iowa native was named to the AVCA All-Central Region First Team, the Division-II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-Central Region Second Team and the All-NSIC First Team. Kimm was also named to the NCAA Central Region All-Tournament Team for the first time and became a back-to-back NSIC All-Tournament Team selection.

"Shelby has been one of the most improved players to come through our program in recent history," said Braegelmann. "Her growth and maturation as a volleyball player have been very impressive to watch and work with. She enjoys the game of volleyball, she loves the process of getting better and she is a volleyball weapon in the front row back row and service line."

LaPlant flourished in 2025 after becoming the team's full-time setter early in the season, and like Kimm earned the first national, regional and conference awards of her career. For the season, she averaged 11.69 assists, 2.21 digs, 1.23 points, 0.62 kills and 0.49 blocks per set.

The Grand Rapids, Minnesota native was named to the AVCA All-Central Region First Team, the D2CCA All-Central Region Second Team and the All-NSIC First Team. She was also named to the NCAA Central Region All-Tournament Team and the NSIC All-Tournament Team and became just the fifth player in program history to be named AVCA DII Player of the Week. LaPlant's 1,309 assists in 2025 rank No. 8 on the program's single season top 10 list and she produced three of the top five single match assist performances. Her .329 career hitting percentage also ranks No. 6 all-time on the program leaderboard.

SCSU also returns junior libero/defensive specialist Laurin Hamann (Manitowoc, Wis.) and senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Abby Wachal (Lincoln, Neb.) who were regular starters for the Huskies in 2025.

In her first season as the libero, Hamann posted the fourth most single season digs (589) in program history and set the single match record for digs, with 38, in a 3-1 NSIC Tournament Semifinals win over No. 2 Wayne State on Nov. 21, breaking Andreanna Pieper's record of 37 from Oct. 20, 2007. She also led the team in aces, with 48. Wachal, who was coming off a redshirt season, recorded nine kill-dig double-doubles throughout the season and was named to the NCAA Central Region All-Tournament Team.

Junior outside hitter/opposite Carlie Willis (Grundy Center, Iowa) is the final returner who played in 100+ sets in 2025, meanwhile senior middle blocker Hannah Bruskiewicz (Rogers, Minn.) looks to return to the lineup after being hampered by injury in 2025. In 2024, she was a Second Team All-NSIC Selection and an NCAA Central Region All-Tournament Team member. The Rogers, Minnesota native owns top 10 marks in career hitting percentage (No. 8, .305) and single season hitting percentage (No. 10, .354, 2024).

WELCOME TO THE PACK
The Huskies welcomed seven newcomers to the roster during the offseason, including one transfer – junior middle blocker Abby Leaf (Ramsey, Minn. / Anoka HS / Washburn) and six freshman who will begin their collegiate careers at St. Cloud State in 2026 – middle blocker Alexis Heinle (Bismarck, N.D. / Century HS), libero/defensive specialist Clara Keaveny (Waconia, Minn. / Mayer Lutheran HS), setter Izzy Keaveny (Waconia, Minn. / Mayer Lutheran HS), opposite/outside hitter Keira Nagle (Minneapolis / Academy of Holy Angels), middle blocker Brynn Panek (Avon, Minn. / Albany HS) and opposite/outside hitter Audrey Rydell (Fargo, N.D. / North HS).

RECORD BOOK CHECK
After another historic season in 2025, many updates have been made to the record book. Click the link below to access the updated version.

Updated Record Book

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