By: Jake Bedell / KVSC Sports Director / @Jake_Bedell91

Last night, the Huskies swept Wisconsin-Parkside in their first match of the 2021 season. With a quick turn around to this morning, they rode the wave and closed out their second match of the tournament. It was a sweep over the reigning GLIAC champion Northern Michigan Wildcats. It was also the first time in program history that they beat the Cats (0-6 in prior matches).

Set 1 was as tight as it could have been. SCSU trailed early on 4-2, but a quick Kill by Phebie Rossi and a Service Ace by Kenzie Foley tied things up at 4. From then on, the Huskies had life. Aces were the name of the game in Set 1, as St. Cloud State earned 5 of them, including the set-clinching point by freshman Keely Kurschner. Final score of Set 1 was 25-16.

Set 2 was more back and forth action, with Northern Michigan clearly emerging as the grittiest opponent yet. With the set notched at 14 all, the Volley of the match occurred. 6 different possession changes and 4 amazing defensive plays by both sides resulted in a no-doubt Kill by Kenzie Foley that brought the Husky bench to its feet. From then on, momentum was all SCSU, and they closed out Set 2 by a final score of 25-17.

In Set 3, the Huskies faced their first true bit of adversity in the tournament. Wildcat senior super star Lizzy Stark took matters into her own hands, putting up a block solo and two kills that saw SCSU down 1-6 early. But four consecutive kills by the Huskies closed the gap. In a true nail-biter, tied at 16 all, Linsey Rachel made her mark with a Kill to break the tie. All told, Bella Erne chipped in the final two points (both Kills) to send the Huskies to a 25-21 win, and a sweep in the match.

Coming up next for the Huskies, they look to let the good times roll Friday night as they take on Michigan Tech in a marquee matchup at 7:30pm. You can catch that game, on the KVSC Sports Stream. Up next for the Wildcats, they take on Concordia-St. Paul at 2:30pm Friday afternoon.