When the dust settled on the 2017 St. Cloud State Volleyball season, the rebuilding program had reached heights untouched by the Huskies for years. The team’s 16-14 overall record marked the first time the program finished over .500 since the 2004 season, breaking a streak of 12 consecutive seasons finishing .500 or worse. That mark also stood as a 8-win improvement from the year prior.

The Huskies also earned their first victory against a Top-25 team in well over a decade, sweeping #18 Wayne State in a match on September 23. Then-sophomore libero Clara Krenz earned her first All-NSIC selection, being named to the Second Team after leading the NSIC with 5.92 digs per set and helping the Huskies improve their hitting percentage defense by a whopping 55 points. Her selection stood as the first since fellow Libero Brianne Stamer was named All-NSIC in 2015. The Krenz-led defense finished third in the conference with 17.26 digs per set. Progression was certainly a theme of 2017, and the Huskies look forward to a promising 2018 season in Year Four of the Chad Braegelmann era.

St. Cloud State’s preseason has been full of competition, as the program brings back a young, athletic roster. The Huskies have 2 seniors, 4 juniors, 2 redshirt sophomores, sophomores, and 6 freshmen on roster. The Huskies must replace three graduated starters in outside hitter Nicole Miller, rightside Becca Gruber, and setter Kayla Crane. Gruber and Miller finished first and second respectively in both kills and attack attempts, leaving a great deal of available swings for the young Huskies hitters. Crane shared court time with Maddy Torve in SCSU’s 6-2 rotation, which means Braegelmann will decide whether or not to move to a 5-1 in 2018. Braegelmann praised his roster’s hard work as the team prepares to open their season at the Hawaii Hilo Tournament on August 23.

“I like the athleticism, I like the skill level, I like the way they compete and their intention in practice to get better every day.”

Our preview of the 2018 Roster begins with the biggest question mark for the Huskies: the offense. As mentioned previously, SCSU must replace a combined 1,509 attack attempts from the graduated Becca Gruber and Nicole Miller. Senior rightside Krista Kuglin and redshirt sophomore outside Abby Templin project as the starters at the pins for the Huskies, with sophomores Erin Navratil and Bekah Miller returning to boost the attack. Freshmen Linsey Rachel, Bella Erne, and Rachel Houle also give St. Cloud State even more weapons to work with. Kuglin brings 380 career kills into her senior year, and showed off markedly improved consistency as a junior with a .151 hitting percentage, more than doubling her 2016 clip. Braegelmann noted that she has shown off great swings in the preseason.

Templin finished third on the team in 2017 with 1.89 kills per set on a .168 hitting percentage in her redshirt freshman season. Fans will certainly remember her 14 kill performance against U-Mary on October 20, one of the many outings that flashed her potential. As Nicole Miller transitioned to more of a defensive role late last season, Navratil found herself receiving plenty of swings on the outside. She averaged 3.22 kills/set over a span of 3 matches in late October to early November, and her thunderous arm gives SCSU a serious thumper at the pins.

That three match hot stretch was kicked off with a 10-12 double-double against MSUM on October 28th. Bekah Miller battled injuries throughout her freshman season, but with a healthy 2018 fans can look forward to a great deal of potential from the 6’0 outside. Miller pounded down 757 kills in her high school career, and her 304 prep blocks show an ability to provide the Huskies with improved defense on the outside.

True freshman and Miss. Baden finalist Linsey Rachel brings a jaw- dropping list of prep accolades to the table for SCSU, being named both All-Conference and Team MVP a whopping 5 times at Maple Lake, thrice named Conference Player of the Year, and earning three selections to the MSHSL All-State Team in Class AA. Bella Erne was twice named a team captain and All-Conference at Blaine high school, adding experience at the National level with a championship run with the Northern Lights in 2017. Rightside Rachel Houle was named All-Conference three times at Stillwater and earned an All-State nod.

St. Cloud State brings back their entire group of middles from 2017, led by senior Micah Nier and junior Marah Mulso. Braegelmann mentioned Nier as one of the offensive leaders for SCSU, and she will certainly be leaned upon for scoring. A mid-season slump slowed Nier a tad in 2017, but she finished strong, avoiding a negative hitting percentage in her final 11 matches to close out the year hitting .206. More consistency in setting to the middle would bode well for a big senior year from Nier. Mulso is a career .205 hitter, and serves as another veteran presence alongside Nier up front for the Huskies. Junior Halle Hughes has found success in limited court time in the past, and her stellar athleticism and a full season playing in the middle give her a great chance at a breakout junior season.

Redshirt sophomore Abol Barnaba has given the Huskies a significant weapon with her powerful swing from the middle, coming in late in matches against Sioux Falls (5 kills/10 swings) and Mankato (6 kills/10 swings) to provide an offensive spark in the two wins. She has battled significant injuries in her two years at SCSU, and if she is able to be fully healthy she could be a serious threat inside. Sarah Colden missed most of 2017 with an injury, but has serious defensive chops and can provide great depth once she’s healthy. Allison Naughton joins SCSU for her true freshman season, and will flash plenty of potential after an outstanding prep career in Des Moines.

The Huskies ran a 6-2 rotation in 2017, running with rightside/setter pairings of Becca Gruber/ Kayla Crane and Krista Kuglin/Maddy Torve. With Crane graduated, Braegelmann will have the ability to decide whether or not to move to a 5-1 or stick with the 6-2. Torve put together an excellent freshman season, posting 4.91 assists per set, 18 aces, and 1.36 digs per set. The 5’11 setter posted a pair of double- doubles in 2018, and her length gives SCSU versatility should they choose to move to the 5-1.

Speaking of versatility, true freshman Madison Hucky has the ability to both set and play the right side as an attacker, as she joins the Huskies after a career at Mayer Lutheran, being named All-Conference four times and earning an All-State accolade. “Defense has been one of our pillars of success these last couple years, the ability to frustrate opponents, keep the ball off the ground and give our attackers more chances to score has been key…” said Braegelmann.

The Huskies defense took major steps forward in 2017, finishing the aforementioned third in the NSIC in digs per set, and allowing the sixth-fewest kills per set. The back row starts with one of the most dominant liberos in program history: All-NSIC junior Clara Krenz. Krenz sits at seventh all-time in the SCSU record books in career digs, on pace to shatter the program record. Braegelmann praised the talents of arguably the NSIC’s best libero.

“Well, you just get that continued consistency. You talk about practice every day; kids can have really great days, but it’s (the question is) always ‘How bad are the bad days?’ Clara’s bad days are always pretty darn good. She doesn’t make a lot of mental mistakes, she’s in the right spot defensively, she’s consistent in serve receive…You know what you’re going to get from her night in and night out. She comes into practice with a focus and intensity that’s fun to watch and fun to work with. You go into a mundane drill where it’s really easy to take a couple plays off, but she just doesn’t do it. That’s certainly one of the main keys to her success these last couple seasons for us.”

Krenz led the NSIC with 5.92 digs per set, and was named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week twice. She somehow managed to become even better against NCAA Top-25 teams, racking up 6.03 digs per set versus ranked opponents. Clara will be rejoined in the back row by stellar sophomore defensive specialist Taylor Olstad, who was excellent in serve receive (finished second among qualifying Huskies with a .954 serve reception percentage) and defensively, picking up 2.54 digs per set. Olstad recorded double-digit digs in four of her final five matches on 2017. The newcomer to the St. Cloud State back row is Clara’s sister and true freshman Katie Krenz, who was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and Team MVP at Stillwater. The Huskies’ strength lies in their defense, and 2018 should be no different with the talented back row.

St. Cloud State opens their season on Thursday, August 23, at 7:00 p.m. CST against the University of Hawaii at Hilo in the Hawaii Hilo Tournament, to open a 4 match run for the Huskies. Beginning with the NSIC slate opener on September 6 against Minnesota-Crookston, all SCSU Volleyball matches can be heard on the KVSC Sports Stream, with Thomas Breach on the call.

Braegelmann heads into his fourth season at the helm of Huskies Volleyball as the program hunts for its first Postseason Tournament berth since 2004. Braegelmann spoke to the Huskies’ hunger for continued development.
“As coaches you’re never satisfied, you want to see more progress, you want to see it faster, but you can’t really be too disappointed with where we’re at.”