ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Kelsie Cada and Taya Beller combined for 30 of Wayne State’s 43 kills to propel the top-ranked Wildcats to a 25-20, 25-13, 27-25 NSIC volleyball sweep Friday at #4 St. Cloud State.
The first set saw the Wildcats surge late to break open a close game. With the score tied at 18-18, the ‘Cats got a SCSU service error followed by a Jessie Brandl ace and Taya Beller kill to take a 21-18 lead and force a Husky timeout. A block by Beller and Taylor Bunjer followed by another Beller kill gave WSC five straight points and control of the opening set.
Wayne State dominated the second set, forcing eight St. Cloud State attack errors (five blocks) while recording 15 kills and a .375 hitting percentage.
The third set featured 17 ties and nine lead changes as the Wildcats rallied late. St. Cloud State held a pair of three-point leads at 20-17 and 21-18, but the Wildcats rallied and staved off one set point to capture the win.
St. Cloud State bounced back and had set point at 25-24, but a Husky service error followed by an attack error that was challenged but remained an error, giving the ‘Cats match point at 26-25. Beller produced a kill on match point to give the Wildcats the straight-set win.
Beller had six kills and two blocks in the set followed by Maggie Brahmer and Cada with four apiece.
Wayne State finished the match with a .259 hitting percentage while holding the Huskies to .152. The ‘Cats held a 43-36 edge in kills and 11-3 advantage in blocks over St. Cloud State. WSC had one more service ace (4-3) while the Huskies had eight service errors to just three for WSC.
Beller recorded a match-high 16 kills with eight blocks for Wayne State followed by Cada with 14 kills, 14 digs and two service aces. Senior libero Jessie Brandl notched 17 digs while setter Rachel Walker was credited with 38 set assists.
The Wildcats (15-0, 5-0 NSIC) will be on the road again Saturday afternoon, visiting No. 9 Minnesota Duluth at 2 p.m.
