By: Jake Bedell / KVSC Sports Director / @Jake_Bedell91

St. Cloud State’s Volleyball program finally made their much-anticipated return to the court in Game 1 of the Keweenaw Tournament from Houghton, Michigan. Picking up right where they left off, the women came out of the gates with a vengeance. This time, handing a sweep to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

The first set saw the St. Cloud State crawl out to a 6-1 lead, with Kenzie Foley picking up 6 of the team’s 17 kills. The first set also saw the Huskies lowest striking percentage of the match, .361. All totaled, the Huskies took set one by a score of 25-17. Set two was a clinic at the net by SCSU. With Bella Erne and Phebie Rossi putting on multiple defensive showings, the Huskies racked up a total of 24 block assists. Driven by Rossi also smashing 4 kills and Kenzie Foley finding 6 more, the Huskies breezed to their most dominant win of the afternoon, 25-11.

The Rangers’ efforts were most effective in the second set, showing the Huskies a back-and-forth battle that saw four lead changes before the 10^th point was earned by either side. But their third set did not start off so well. In the do or die third set, Wisconsin watched as St. Cloud State jumped out to a commanding 6-0 lead. It was not the largest deficit they would hold in the third set, but it was the nail in the coffin. SCSU climbed the mountain and swept Parkside with a final set score of 25-14.

SCSU looked just like they did the last time we saw them. And they’ll look to keep that up tomorrow morning with an early date against Northern Michigan (9:30AM). Then they’ll close out day two of the Keweenaw Tournament with a marquee matchup against the class of the GLIAC (and defending champs), Michigan Tech (7:30pm). Both of those games can be heard on the KVSC Sports Stream.

For Parkside, their split ticket on Friday starts at 11AM against Minnesota Duluth. After that, they will cross paths with Minnesota State Mankato at 4pm.