Minnesota West's Lexi Schreurs reaches 1,000 set assists in Friday-night sweep over St. Cloud Tech

Oct. 21—WORTHINGTON — Minnesota West freshman setter Lexi Schreurs reached the 1,000-assist milestone during a Friday-night sweep over St. Cloud Technical and Community College in the regular-season finale.

Schreurs surpassed the mark and was recognized for it near the end of the second set. She then celebrated the milestone with teammates, family and friends after the match.

"When they announced it I got the chills knowing everyone's supporting me. They come from afar and they're here in the stands," Schreurs said. "My teammates, they all gave me a hug and that's just how much they mean to me and they support me in every step I make."

Schreurs was a star volleyball player at Russell-Tyler-Ruthton High School, where she was a team captain for two years and an all-conference player her senior season. After high school, she decided to attend Minnesota West along with former R-T-R teammate Ella Hesse, who ended up getting the kill on Schreurs' 1,000th assist.

"I've never got that record before, especially in my high school. I played varsity all my four years and I still never broke a record," Schreurs said. "So coming here, my first year playing and breaking it means a lot, and I wasn't expecting it for sure tonight, so they all surprised me with that."

Reaching 1,000 assists in just her freshman year at Minnesota West is a testament to how well Schreurs has transitioned from high school to college and how much she's grown as a player since then.

"I'm a freshman starting over again and I knew I had to step up and a setter is a big role on the team," Schreurs said. "So I think coming here and just being that younger role model, I think that was a big step for me, but I think I played it pretty well."

It also shows her dedication to volleyball and how much she loves the game.

"She's just intense. Every ball it's 'go' or 'go after it' or 'come on,'" said Lady Jays head coach Brittney McNab. "Every ball she's just intense and you can tell she loves to be here day in and day out."

Following Schreurs' milestone achievement, the Lady Jays went on to beat St. Cloud Tech by scores of 25-22, 25-20, 25-23.

Despite what a 3-0 sweep might indicate, each set was close. The Lady Jays made the big plays at the end of each set to secure their 23rd win of the season and third in a row.

"I think it's huge and there is still tough competition," McNab said on the winning streak. "It wasn't in the lower end of our conference or anything, so I think it's huge to still play some tough teams..."

In the first set, the Cyclones scored the first two points before Minnesota West scored nine to the next 10 points to take control. The Lady Jays held a comfortable lead for most of the set until St. Cloud Tech went on a 5-0 run to cut it to 21-20. The Cyclones kept it within a couple of points until a kill from Ella Kamrud won the set for Minnesota West.

In set two, the Lady Jays had a small lead that grew after a 7-0 run that included back-to-back serve aces from Kiarra Danielson, her first of eight in the match. Aided by that run, the Lady Jays' biggest lead in the set was nine before later leading 21-14. A few points later, the Cyclones managed to save a couple set points, but it was too little too late, as the Lady Jays closed the door on a 2-0 lead.

The third set wound up being the closest one, but it didn't appear that way at first. Minnesota West controlled most of the set that included a 10-0 run that turned a two-point deficit into an eight-point lead.

Prior to that, another milestone was achieved early in the third set, when Cyclone sophomore libero Kylie Winter reached the 1,000-career dig mark.

But Minnesota West appeared to have the set comfortably in hand, but St. Cloud Tech mounted a comeback. The Cyclones took a 22-20 lead before McNab called a timeout.

"We just had to collect ourselves. Nobody was talking, nobody was communicating where the ball was going or what was happening," McNab said. "I think our biggest thing is communication, as soon as we stop communicating we just fall apart."

The Lady Jays came out of that timeout and responded, winning five of the next six points before a St. Cloud Tech serve error clinched the match.

Schreurs finished with 38 assists on her milestone night, along with getting three kills. Hesse totaled 14 kills and 10 digs, Kamrud added eight kills and Hattie DeVries had five.

Shawna Rogers led the Lady Jays in digs with 15, Danielson added 10 and had three kills and Kat Polzine also finished with three kills.

Now, the Lady Jays can look ahead to the Region 13 playoffs with the regular season finished. They sit in third place in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference south division standings, behind only M State-Fergus Falls and Century College as the postseason begins this week.