Volleyball sweeps Oles to reach MIAC playoff finals

November 3, 2005
Junior Rachelle Dosch had 19 kills and nine digs to lead No. 17-ranked St. Thomas to a three-game sweep of visting St. Olaf in Thursday's MIAC semifinal playoff volleyball match at UST's Schoenecker Arena.

St. Thomas won 30-28, 30-20, 30-25 to reach Saturday's championship match. Coach Thanh Pham's team moved closer to receiving the school's first NCAA playoff berth since 1992. The Tommies hit .298 to the Oles' .133.

The top-seeded Toms (27-6) improved to 7-0 at home this season and moved into the finals against third-seed St. Benedict (23-4), which won Thursday at second-seed Carleton 30-25, 30-24, 30-20. The match will be played at 7 p.m. Saturday at Schoenecker Arena. The Blazers have won 15 in a row since a Sept. 21 loss at St. Thomas.

Saturday's winner gets the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA playoffs. The MIAC has a good chance of advancing two or three teams into NCAA postseason play as four squads have been ranked nationally throughout the season.

The eight-team regional will be played at St. Thomas Nov. 10-12, with pairings announced Sunday night.

Joing Dosch for UST, senior Erika Wetzel had 13 kills, sophomore Kristin Storrs had 12 kills and three solo blocks, senior Ann Eibensteiner had four blocks and five kills, freshman Katie Kremer had 17 digs, and junior Sarah Rainey had 31 assists.

St. Olaf (14-12), which stunned fourth-seed Concordia two nights earlier with a 3-0 win, was led by senior Danica Finseth (12 kills), freshman Jessica Levin (10 kills), junior Audrey Volstad (33 assists) and sophomore Rachel Pool (13 digs).

UST rallied from an 18-11 deficit to win game one 30-28. The Toms broke to a 12-2 lead and went on to take game two 30-20. Game three was deadlocked 22-22 before UST surged to victory.

see box score here