SCSU Volleyball Team Finishes Fifth In National Rankings

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- The St. Cloud State University volleyball team had another very successful season. The team is ranked in the top five in the nation in the final AVCA Division II poll released on Monday.

MSU-Denver finished at #1 after winning the national championship on Saturday night. NSIC regular season champion Concordia-St. Paul finished #2 after making it to the national championship match. Tampa is #3 after suffering its only loss of the season in the Final Four. Coming in at #4 is Point Loma

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SCSU's final overall record this season was 28-7. They went 18-2 in the always very tough NSIC Conference. The Huskies won the NSIC Conference tournament. They also advanced to the NCAA Central Region final (Sweet 16) for the second year in a row.

The Huskies lost to the Golden Bears in a five-set match in the Sweet 16.

NSIC teams in the final National Top 25 poll:
#2 - Concordia - St. Paul
#5 - St. Cloud State University
#10 - Wayne State
#16 - Southwest Minnesota State

For the fourth time in the last five seasons, St. Cloud State Volleyball had at least three players named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II All-America teams. Junior outside hitter Shelby Kimm (North Liberty, Iowa), sophomore setter Braya LaPlant (Grand Rapids, Minn.), and redshirt senior middle blocker Ella Thompson (Lakeville, Minn.) were each named to the second team.

LaPLant was named the Division II National Player of the Week once and the NSIC player of the week twice during the season.

Head Coach Chad Braegelmann got his 200th win for the program during the regular season. He just completed his 11th season with SCSU and his 25th overall as a collegiate head coach.

The Huskies are losing several key players off of this year's roster, including middle blockers Ella Thompson and Emilie Planert, outside hitter Sam Zimmerman, and defensive specialist Emily Kern.

However, several big players will return in 2026, including: Sophomore setter Braya LaPlant, junior outside hitter Shelby Kimm, sophomore outside hitter Abbey Wachel, and sophomore libero Lauren Hammann.

Seven high school girls have signed on to join the program starting in 2026. Middle blocker Alexis Heinle (Bismarck, N.D. / Century HS), libero Clara Keaveny (Waconia, Minn. / Mayer Lutheran HS), setter Izzy Keaveny (Waconia, Minn. / Mayer Lutheran HS), outside hitter Bailey Mullihan (Fairbank, Iowa / Denver HS), middle blocker Grace Mullihan (Fairbank, Iowa / Denver HS), middle blocker Brynn Panek (Avon, Minn. / Albany HS) and opposite Audrey Rydell (Fargo, N.D. / North HS) will begin their collegiate careers at St. Cloud State in 2026.

In 2024, the NSIC Conference was the home attendance leader among all NCAA Division II conferences. The 15 teams had a total attendance of just over 75,000 people, with an average of about 500 people per match.