Wayne State was held to a .144 attack percentage by St. Cloud State as the seventh-ranked Huskies posted a 25-17, 25-20, 25-23 win over the 12th-ranked Wildcats Friday in the 2019 NSIC Volleyball Tournament at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Wayne State got off to a slow start in the first set, trailing 6-1 to force an early timeout. The Wildcats never led in the set and got as close as 17-14 before the Huskies scored the next three points to stop a possible Wildcat rally. Katie Stephens had three kills in the set for the Wildcats.
Wayne State rallied from a 14-9 deficit and got within two at 16-14 before the Huskies pushed the lead to 21-16 and overcame four kills apiece from Maddie Knobbe and Alyssa Ballenger to take the 2-0 advantage.
The third set featured seven lead changes and 13 ties, but St. Cloud State produced 18 kills in the set and staved off the Wildcats to complete the sweep and move on to Saturday’s semifinals. Ballenger had six kills in the set for WSC while Rachel Walker and Tarrin Beller each had two blocks.
Ballenger paced Wayne State with 10 kills followed by Stephens with eight. Beller accounted for five blocks with Walker adding four. Haley Kauth was credited with 12 digs while Walker handed out 34 set assists.
Wayne State (24-7) now await their NCAA Tournament fate with the NCAA Division II selection show Monday at 6:30 p.m. after entering the conference tournament as the seventh-ranked team in the region.
