No. 5 St. Cloud State Volleyball Advances to NCAA Central Region Semifinals After Beating No. 17 Griffons in Four

No. 4 seeded Huskies take down No. 5 seed Missouri Western, earn round of 64 win for second consecutive season

12/4/2025 10:49:00 PM

KEARNEY, Neb. – No. 5 St. Cloud State Volleyball (27-6, 18-2 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) beat No. 17 Missouri Western (21-8, 13-3 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) in four sets in the NCAA Round of 64/Central Region Quarterfinals on Thursday evening at the Health & Sports Center in Kearney, Nebraska. The No. 4 seeded Huskies took down the No. 5 seed Griffons, 25-21, 25-11,
TOP HUSKIES
  • Junior outside hitter Shelby Kimm (North Liberty, Iowa) – 19 digs and seven kills
  • Sophomore setter Braya LaPlant (Grand Rapids, Minn.) – 49 assists and nine digs
  • Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Abby Wachal (Lincoln, Neb.) – 14 kills, six digs and five block assists
  • Sophomore libero Laurin Hamann (Manitowoc, Wis.) – 21 digs  
NOTABLES
  • SCSU improved to 3-1 all-time against Missouri Western, 3-1 against MoWest in neutral site games and 1-0 against the Griffons in NCAA Tournament play.
  • The Huskies moved to 7-10 (.412) all-time in NCAA Tournament matches, 4-7 (.364) in first round matches and 1-1 in NCAA Tournament matches in Kearney.
  • SCSU improved to 12-5 against teams ranked/receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) DII National Poll this season, 4-0 in neutral site matches and 5-3 in four set matches.
  • The Huskies led the match in points (72-58), kills (57-46), hitting percentage (.236 - .103), blocks (12-9), assists (56-44) and digs (66-58). Each team had three aces.
  • SCSU's 12 blocks tied its single match high from this season, its 56 assists were the second most in a four set match this season and its 66 digs were tied for the fourth most.
  • Kimm's 19 digs were tied for the second most in a single match this season. She has posted double digit digs in six straight matches.
  • LaPlant's 49 assists were the second most in a four set match this season.
  • Wachal's five block assists/total blocks were new career high single match marks.
  • Hamann's 21 digs were tied for the second most in a four set match this season.
  • Graduate opposite Sam Zimmerman (Moorhead, Minn.) recorded 13 kills and six digs.
  • Redshirt senior middle blocker Ella Thompson (Lakeville, Minn.) compiled 11 kills, seven block assists and one solo block. Her eight total blocks tied the single match team high this season.
  • Senior middle blocker Emilie Planert (De Pere, Wis.) posted. 11 kills (.474 hitting percentage) and four block assists. 
UP NEXT
The Huskies advanced to the NCAA Round of 32/Central Region Semifinals for the second consecutive season and will play the host school, (1) No. 2 Nebraska Kearney (30-3, 13-3 MIAA) on their home floor at the Health & Sports Center in Kearney on Friday night at 7 p.m. Links to each coverage option will be available on the St. Cloud State Volleyball schedule page.
 
Information regarding the tournament can be found on the NCAA Central Region Homepage.