University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, October 31
St. Paul, Minn.
7:00 p.m. Central
14-9,6-5Summit League
3
vs
1
Denver
9-12,4-7Summit League
1
2
3
4
F
Denver
22
22
25
11
1
St. Thomas (MN)
25
25
17
25
3
Team Stats
Denver
UST
Kills
42
45
Errors
27
19
Attempts
131
118
Hitting %
.115
.220
Points
63.0
64.0
Assists
42
44
Aces
10
10
Blocks
11
9
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH/RS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
Photo by: Corina Sandy
Tommies brew up 3-1 win over Pioneers on Halloween
10/31/2024 9:36:00 PM | Volleyball
Gustafson and Kealy notch double-doubles for program’s first win over Denver
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Thomas volleyball took down the third leg of last season's Summit League regular season co-champions Thursday night during a four-set victory over Denver (25-22, 25-22, 17-25, 25-11) in Schoenecker Arena. The Tommies improve to 14-9 overall and 6-5 in the Summit League on the program's first ever win over the Pioneers.
In addition to beating Denver for the first time, St. Thomas also took victories over 2023 Summit League regular season co-champions Kansas City and South Dakota earlier this season. The Tommies will have a chance to beat the fourth co-champion in Omaha on Saturday.
Ellie Gustafson and Morgan Kealy each recorded double-doubles while Lauren Galvin was one kill and one dig shy. Tezra Rudzitis led the Tommies with 12 kills and a .435 hitting percentage and Megan Wetter totaled nine kills on a .294 hitting percentage. Kealy, Wetter and Addie Schmotzer each totaled four blocks.
Denver jumped ahead to a three-point lead in set one and kept it at 7-4 on a solo block. Following a service error from DU, a service ace by Ellie Gustafson helped start an 8-1 run to take a 12-8 lead. The Tommie lead grew to as many as six but was cut to one again, 19-18. A pair of kills from Megan Wetter and block assist by Wetter and Morgan Kealy led St. Thomas to set point while was closed on Lauren Galvin's fifth kill of the opening game.
The Pioneers again led first in set two, pulling ahead by as many as seven, 13-6. Kills by Wetter and Gustafson, along with another block assist by Wetter and Kealy, was part of a 6-1 run that brough the Tommies within two. Denver extended the lead again by five, but another run allowed St. Thomas to grab the lead for the first time in the set. Payton Willman had a serve tip the net and fall to tie, 18-18, while a block assist from Kealy and Addie Schmotzer pushed the lead to 20-18. Four different Tommies recorded kills, along with a service ace from Kealy, to close out the set win.
St. Thomas again overcame an early deficit to Denver to lead 8-4. A slew of kills helped the Pioneers to a 6-1 run that ultimately led to three lead changes. Galvin's lone kill of the set put the Purple ahead, 14-13, for their final lead of the game. Another run by Denver pushed its lead to 18-15 to control and force a set four.
The Tommies scored three different ways, all in a row, to begin the fourth set. Kills from Gustafson and Rudzitis sandwiched another quick 3-0 run to lead 6-1 while the advantage was extended to six, 9-3, to force a Denver timeout. The Purple continued to hit well to extend the lead again, this time to a set-high 12 points, 22-10, following another block from Kealy and Wetter. A pair of attack errors closed out the match to give St. Thomas the season series split.
Top Tommies
In addition to beating Denver for the first time, St. Thomas also took victories over 2023 Summit League regular season co-champions Kansas City and South Dakota earlier this season. The Tommies will have a chance to beat the fourth co-champion in Omaha on Saturday.
Ellie Gustafson and Morgan Kealy each recorded double-doubles while Lauren Galvin was one kill and one dig shy. Tezra Rudzitis led the Tommies with 12 kills and a .435 hitting percentage and Megan Wetter totaled nine kills on a .294 hitting percentage. Kealy, Wetter and Addie Schmotzer each totaled four blocks.
Denver jumped ahead to a three-point lead in set one and kept it at 7-4 on a solo block. Following a service error from DU, a service ace by Ellie Gustafson helped start an 8-1 run to take a 12-8 lead. The Tommie lead grew to as many as six but was cut to one again, 19-18. A pair of kills from Megan Wetter and block assist by Wetter and Morgan Kealy led St. Thomas to set point while was closed on Lauren Galvin's fifth kill of the opening game.
The Pioneers again led first in set two, pulling ahead by as many as seven, 13-6. Kills by Wetter and Gustafson, along with another block assist by Wetter and Kealy, was part of a 6-1 run that brough the Tommies within two. Denver extended the lead again by five, but another run allowed St. Thomas to grab the lead for the first time in the set. Payton Willman had a serve tip the net and fall to tie, 18-18, while a block assist from Kealy and Addie Schmotzer pushed the lead to 20-18. Four different Tommies recorded kills, along with a service ace from Kealy, to close out the set win.
St. Thomas again overcame an early deficit to Denver to lead 8-4. A slew of kills helped the Pioneers to a 6-1 run that ultimately led to three lead changes. Galvin's lone kill of the set put the Purple ahead, 14-13, for their final lead of the game. Another run by Denver pushed its lead to 18-15 to control and force a set four.
The Tommies scored three different ways, all in a row, to begin the fourth set. Kills from Gustafson and Rudzitis sandwiched another quick 3-0 run to lead 6-1 while the advantage was extended to six, 9-3, to force a Denver timeout. The Purple continued to hit well to extend the lead again, this time to a set-high 12 points, 22-10, following another block from Kealy and Wetter. A pair of attack errors closed out the match to give St. Thomas the season series split.
Top Tommies
- Tezra Rudzitis led all Tommies with 12 kills on a team high .435 hitting percentage to go along with three blocks, all assisted.
- Ellie Gustafson notched her sixth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 10 digs.
- Morgan Kealy surpassed 1,500 career assists as she totaled 36 against Denver. She recorded her third straight double-double, and 15th of the season, with 11 digs while she added four blocks and four service aces.
- Lauren Galvin and Megan Wetter totaled nine kills each, including a .294 hitting percentage for Wetter. Galvin was one kill and one dig shy of her seventh double-double of the season but she added two blocks, one ace and one assist.
Up Next
St. Thomas remains at home to host Omaha on Saturday, Nov. 2 with first serve scheduled for 3 p.m.
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-- St. Thomas Athletics --
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