Sioux Falls in Straight Sets to St. Cloud State at Halenbeck Hall
The University of Sioux Falls volleyball team ran into a resilient St. Cloud State squad on Friday evening, falling in straight sets 25-18, 25-18, 25-23 at Halenbeck Hall. With the road loss, the Cougars shifted to a 10-17 overall record and a 6-13 standing in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. Meanwhile, the Huskies capitalized on home-court advantage to improve to 20-8 overall and 13-6 in conference action.
The opening frame saw the Cougars trade early punches, fighting to a 10-10 tie fueled by offensive output from Abby Haus, Ella Walker, and Aubrey Gates. St. Cloud State answered with an 11-3 run to establish a commanding 21-13 lead. Although Haus and Kyleigh Tangen sparked a late three-point rally with consecutive kills, the Huskies closed out the first set 25-18. Haus paced the Cougars early with seven kills on a .250 hitting percentage.
St. Cloud State seized momentum immediately in the second set behind a 5-0 opening surge. Sioux Falls chipped away methodically, pulling within a single point at 16-15 thanks to persistent contributions from Walker, Gates, and Tangen. The Huskies slammed the door with a 9-3 closing stretch to take the set 25-18 and build a 2-0 match advantage. Gates anchored the second-frame offense with four kills.
Sioux Falls Fights Back in Competitive Third Set
The third set brought the most competitive volleyball of the night, featuring 12 ties and six lead changes. After dropping the first three points, Sioux Falls engineered an 8-3 run to claim an 8-6 edge, sparked by kills from Haus and Tangen alongside service aces from Lucy Larson and Gretchen Volk. The Cougars even held a brief 17-16 advantage before the Huskies clawed back control. Trailing 24-21, Sioux Falls fought off two match points to pull within one at 24-23, but St. Cloud State notched the final kill to complete the sweep.
Statistically, the Cougars posted their highest kill total of the night in the third frame with 16, hitting .225. For the match, Haus led the Cougars with 12 kills on 23 attempts while hitting .304, adding two digs and a block assist. Walker, Gates, and Tangen each tallied seven kills, while Hollie Peterson orchestrated the attack with 31 assists, four digs, and two kills. Defensively, Maci Lerseth collected a team-high 12 digs.
St. Cloud State countered with 41 kills on a .267 hitting percentage, paced by Carlie Willis who notched 13 kills on a .478 hitting percentage. The victory marked the Huskies’ 20th win of the season, extending their streak of 20+ win seasons to seven in a row. Braya LaPlant surpassed 1,000 assists on the season during the match, becoming just the fifth Husky to compile multiple 1,000+ assist seasons.
The Cougars return to action on Saturday afternoon, traveling to face the Mavericks in Mankato at 3 p.m.
