SCSU Volleyball Kicks Off Conference Tournament at Home Tuesday

(KNSI) – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Volleyball Tournament begins Tuesday with four quarterfinal matchups.

St. Cloud State University holds the bracket’s top seed after a 24-2 overall record so far this fall. They’ll face off against the University of Sioux Falls at 6:00 p.m. at Halenbeck Hall.

The teams met once in the regular season. SCSU knocked off the Cougars 25-18, 22-25, 25-15, 25-16 on October 4th. Huskies outside hitter Kenzie Foley laid down 25 kills that night, one of her better performances en route to her second consecutive NSIC Player of the Year honor.

SCSU is 18-0 in conference, with 15 of its matches decided in straight sets. For that reason alone, the prior match against the Cougars stands out. If St. Cloud State wins Tuesday, it will host the semifinal and final rounds of the tournament this weekend. They will play at either 5:00 or 7:00 p.m. Saturday. The championship is set for 3:00 p.m. Sunday if it is in St. Cloud.

Other quarterfinal matchups on Tuesday include:

(7) Minnesota State at (2) Concordia-St. Paul
(6) Winona State at (3) Wayne State College
(5) Northern State at (4) Southwest Minnesota State

St. Cloud State likely does not need to win the tournament to earn the number one seed in the Midwest Regional for the NCAAs, but it doesn’t want to leave anything to chance. The top team would host the first three rounds of the national championships.

SCSU is 54-7 in its last 61 home matches. Hosting a regional would be a huge boon for the Huskies as they try to advance to the program’s first-ever Elite Eight.

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