By Earnhardt Jaworski / KVSC Sports Writer

After a weekend sweep in North Dakota over UMary [3-0 W] and Minot State [3-0 W] last weekend, the Huskies battled against Northern State [7-3 [2-0]] in the NSIC home opener to see who was top dog. 

Set one looked like typical Huskies volleyball, with the Huskies testing the water at the start, and then blowing their opponents out of said water. In set one, Northern State was held to a .059 hitting percentage, their lowest of the match. St. Cloud State would take the first set victory, 25-14. 

Set two was a different story. For the first time all season, St Cloud State had to battle to the end.  Northern State’s kill leader Sally Gaul and Taylor Buckley began throwing the Huskies’ front line fits. The Wolves led for nearly the entire set, but the Huskies kept pace with the Wolves and took the lead away in the waning moment. To end set two, freshman defensive specialist Emily Kern sent over a curving serve that the Wolves couldn’t keep alive. Kern finished the night with 3 aces. The Huskies took set two, 25-23. 

Set three was almost identical to set two. Northern State continued to be a nuisance for St. Cloud State. This time around, the Huskies were able to keep pace with the Wolves, trading the lead back and forth nine times in the set. St. Cloud State was led by Lindsey Rachel and Kenzie Foley for the entire match, as they finished the night with 13 kills each. However, it was junior middle blocker Makena Hollman with the match winning dagger. Hollman finished the night with a career-high nine kills and hit an astounding .600. The Huskies would take set three, 25-22, and won the match 3-0. By the end of the night, the #1 hitting percentage team in the country bettered their season average of .317, hitting .347 in the victory.

The #6 team in the nation, St. Cloud State now moves to 11-0 [3-0] and ties the best start in program history. The team looks to beat this record against MSU Moorhead @  2pm on Saturday, September 17th.