CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston fell 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-17) to St. Cloud State University in their home opener Sat., Sept. 16 at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles played a close first set, playing strong volleyball against the Huskies but struggled in the final two sets of the match as the Huskies took down the Golden Eagles 3-0.
Minnesota Crookston falls to 3-7 (0-2 NSIC), while St. Cloud State moved to 9-2 (2-0 NSIC) with Saturday's victory.
The Golden Eagles were led by the play of their middle hitters
Kelci Green (R-Sr., MH, Anoka, Minn.) and
Callie Schapekahm (Jr., MH, Eagan, Minn.).
Kelci Green had 12 kills and no errors as she hit .545 on the match. Schapekahm notched seven kills with no errors as she hit .467 for the match.
Kassi Green (R-Sr., OH, Anoka, Minn.) notched eight kills, but also had eight errors. Green had five kills and just one error in the opening set, but struggled in the final two as she notched three kills with seven error.
Kaitlin Sikkink (R-So., MH/RS, St. Charles, Minn.) added five kills.
At setter,
Kaycie Hagen (Sr., S, Burnsville, Minn.) led the Golden Eagles to a .172 hitting percentage with 37 kills and 16 errors.
Defensively, Minnesota Crookston had three players with double-figure digs.
Becca Vandenheuvel (Sr., DS, Cannon Falls, Minn.) led the way with 12 digs. Hagen added 10, while
Maggie Perrel (R-Sr., DS/OH, New Germany, Minn.) chipped in 10 digs. The team had 64 digs overall on the match.
On the block, Schapekahm and
Kelci Green paced the team with one block assist and one solo block.
St. Cloud State finished the match with 44 kills and 10 errors as they hit .270 on the evening. The Huskies looked to a balanced offensive attack. Nicole Miller and Marah Mulson each tallied nine kills and no errors. Miller hit .310 for the match, while Mulso hit .500. Becca Gruber and Krista Kuglin each added seven kills, while Abby Templin added six kills.
At setter, Kayla Crane paced the team with 23 assists, while Maddy Torve added 15 assists.
Defensively, the Huskies looked to 18 digs from libero Clara Krenz, while Miller added 14 digs. The block was led by two block assists and one solo block from Kuglin. Micah Nier and Mulso each added two block assists.
Minnesota Crookston and St. Cloud State went back-and-forth for the first 12 points of the first set as it was tied up 6-6 after a Vandenheuvel service error. The Huskies would go up 9-6 after a
Kassi Green attack error. The U of M Crookston came right back by winning five of six points to go up 11-10 on a Schapekahm kill. St. Cloud State responded with a 4-0 run as they went ahead 14-11 on a bad set from Hagen.
Minnesota Crookston did not go away as they cut the lead to 15-14 on a Gruber attack error. St. Cloud State countered as they won 4-of-5 points to go up 19-15 on a Krenz service ace. The Golden Eagles were able to come back and cut the lead to 21-19 on a Schapekahm kill. However, the Huskies were able to take the set 25-21 on a kill from Gruber.
The Huskies controlled the second frame early as they took the 10-4 lead on a
Kassi Green attack error. St. Cloud State extended their lead to 17-8 on a Miller kill and would be able to hold on for the 25-14 set two victory go up 2-0 in the match.
The two foes would be knotted up 4-4 early in the third set after a kill from
Kelci Green. The Huskies took the momentum as they won 13-of-15 points to go up 17-6 on a Miller kill. The Golden Eagles would take 11 of the final 19 points, but it would be too late as St. Cloud State won 25-17 to take the match 3-0.
Minnesota Crookston hit just .085 and .179 in the final two sets after having a strong first set with a .255 hitting percentage.
The Golden Eagles return to action Tues., Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. against Bemidji State University.