Lineup change proves positive

The Huskies hosted the Wayne State Wildcats and the Augustana Vikings this Halloween weekend.

The No. 15-ranked Wildcats took the floor against the Huskies and scorched them in a quick, three-straight-set victory 25-15, 25-19 and 25-17.

Setter for the Huskies, junior Kiersten Mormann, went down in the first period with an ankle injury. Freshman outside hitter Lauren Clipperly came in to take the sets for the Huskies. Clipperly finished the game with 20 set assists.

“Lauren threw hittable balls,” said head coach Patricia Gerchy. “We just have to cut down on unforced errors. We responded to adversity against Wayne State. Our starting setter goes down and the role was filled. Its just hard to get points back when you give them away.”

The first set was quick for the Huskies, unable to stop the high-powered Wayne State attacking offense from scoring.

The second set the Huskies started out with confidence taking the early lead of 7-4, but with a strong push by the Wildcats, the score was tied at 10-10. Wayne State then broke away to an 18-15 lead when Jennifer Hefner served five straight points.

The last set was tough for the Huskies to counteract, letting Tali Erickson score six straight points on serves while middle hitter Jennifer Hefner served seven straight points in the third set.

Outside hitter Ashley Shields led the Huskies with nine kills. Middle Hitter Kayla Tschida knocked five block assists in the contest with defensive specialist Sarah Madden in the back row with 10 digs.

With the quick loss from the Wildcats, the Huskies looked to turn their fortunes around against Augustana (6-9 NSIC, 11-16 overall).

Mormann was ruled out for the game with an ankle injury, so Clipperly stepped in as setter and made some remarkable sets with a career-high 33 set assists.

“We came into the game knowing that Lauren was going to set for us,” Shields said. “We had to make the adjustment last night, but we knew today. We just came out to have fun and as a whole play well.”

“Last night was a little confusing at first,” Tschida said. “It was very important that we come out strong today with a new setter. It was a little slower, but worked really well.”
The Huskies made the game quick for the Vikings, winning three straight sets 25-21, 25-20 and 26-24.

Tschida lead the Huskies with 12 kills and four blocks. Chelsea Nagle in the libero position posted 15 digs with senior Stephanie Coxon adding 11 digs and Tschida 10 digs.

“Everyone contributed,” Gerchy (Mickow) said. “From the starters to the ladies on the sideline. They all kept their composure. I just told them to keep it simple.

“They were finally playing up to their potential. They kept their composure through adversity and haven’t given up.”

The first set went back and forth until eventually the Huskies took back the set with a 19-17 lead. With the game close at a 22-21 Huskies lead, Tschida, Shields and Taylor Beebe notched kills to win the first set 25-21.

The second set started off with a six-point run by the Vikings to take a 4-8 lead. The Huskies bitterly fought their way back to tie the set at 14-14. Constant offensive kills by the Huskies kept the lead in St. Cloud’s hands.

The last set was filled with intense, edge-of-the-seat action. The score knotted at 19-19. The lead changed three times and had four ties before the Huskies smelled victory when a Vikings attacking error gave the Huskies a 25-24 lead.

The Vikings then had another attacking error from their middle hitter to give the Huskies the victory at 26-24. The first sweep for the Huskies since Sept. 12 against Quincy.

The win prior to Augustana was on Sept. 26 against Minnesota-Crookston. The win on Oct. 31 makes the month of October 1-9 for the Huskies.

Kayla Tschida is leading the Huskies this season with 293 kills. Shields is second with 255.

However, Shields has played in 17 less games than Tschida.

Tschida also has 161 digs.

St. Cloud State has a match waiting for them on Tuesday when they travel to Bemidji State. The Huskies resume action at home for the weekend taking on MSU Moorhead on Friday and Minnesota-Crookston on Saturday.