University of St. Thomas Athletics
31-6
St. Olaf
31-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UST | 25 | 27 | 25 | 3 |
| STO | 20 | 25 | 14 | 0 |
Meet me in St. Louis! Toms get first VB trip to nationals
11/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
On a cold and cloudy Sunday, the sun shined on Coach Thanh Pham and his Tommie volleyball players, who won the biggest match of their college lives.
The second-seed Tommies rallied in each set to post a 3-0 victory over top-seed St. Olaf. UST prevailed 25-20, 27-25, 25-14 before a spirited crowd of nearly 500 in the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex.
The No. 12-ranked Tommies (31-6) will advance to St. Louis and next weekend's eight-team national finals. They had lost three consecutive matches to St. Olaf in the last 53 weeks, including a 3-0 decision in Northfield eight days ago in the MIAC playoff finals.
It's the first St. Thomas volleyball trip to the national finals in school history. UST previously was 0-6 all-time in regional championship matches, including three losses since 2005, all to better seeded teams.
St. Thomas hit an impressive .325 and showed an exceptional ability to close out each set. Three senior hitters came up big: Katie Bonine had 15 kills and 11 digs and hit .333; Tori Jones had nine kills and no errors and hit .600, and added seven digs and three blocks; Alesha Nelson had seven kills and no errors and hit .412; Emily Foster had 43 assists and three aces; Jill Osborne had eight kills; and Kaitlain Wachter had 11 digs.
UST closed the first set with 9-2 run after trailing 18-16; closed the second set with 14-6 run after trailing 19-13; and ended the match with a 12-1 run after the score was tied 13-13.
St. Thomas swept all three regional matches by 3-0 scores and has won 26 of its last 29 matches since a Sept. 15 home loss to the Oles. That includes nine consectuive home victories. The current UST seniors won 53 of 57 matches in their era against conference opponents.
All-American Kim Smisek had 13 kills and 12 digs to lead the Oles (31-5), who had a 14-match winning streak halted.
UST had three players, all seniors, on the All-Tournament Team -- Foster was named the Most Outstanding Player and joined by hitters Bonine and Osborne. St. Olaf's Smisek and Melissa Burch, Whitworth's Kaimi Rocha and UW-Eau Claire's Rachel VerVoort rounded out the honor team.
On the weekend, Foster had 120 assists in nine sets; Bonine had 39 kills and 47 digs; Osborne finished with 29 kills and hit .333
The Tommies will play No. 3-ranked Juniata (Pa.) (33-5) in the first match of the Friday session, at 12:30 p.m., on the Washington University campus in St. Louis.
NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship Pairings
Friday, Nov. 19 • WU Field House • St. Louis, Mo.
#12 St. Thomas vs. #3 Juniata (Pa.) - 12:30 p.m.
#10 Calvin (Mich.) vs. #25 UMass.-Boston - 3 p.m.
#1 Emory (Ga.) vs. #5 Christopher Newport (Va.) - 5:30 p.m.
#3 Washington U. (Mo. ) vs. # 15 New York U. - 8 p.m.
--
Click here for Sunday box score:
http://www.tommiesports.com/vlbl/stats/11-14-V1.htm
Emily Foster was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Regional Tournament. (Greg Smith photo)
Jill Osborne made the All-Tournament Team. (Greg Smith photo)
--
Regional recap
Friday, Nov. 12/Quarterfnals
--Match 1, 12:30 p.m.: Whitworth (18-6) def. Concordia-Moorhead (24-7), 3-0 (27-25, 26-24, 25-20)
--Match 2, 3 p.m.: St. Olaf (30-4) def. vs. Northwestern (Minn.) (26-14), 3-2 (28-26, 25-23, 25-27, 23-25, 15-12)
--Match 3, 5:30 p.m.: UW-Eau Claire (25-9) def. Nebraska Wesleyan (23-6), 25-27, 25-22, 25-17
--Match 4, 8 p.m.: St. Thomas (28-6) def. Puget Sound (18-6), 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-22)
Saturday, Nov. 13/Semifinals
--Match 5, 3:30 p.m. -- St. Olaf def. Whitworth, 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-11)
--Match 6, 6 p.m.: St. Thomas def. UW-Eau Claire, 25-14, 25-23, 25-19
Sunday, Nov. 14 /Championship
--Match 7, 4 p.m.: St. Thomas def. St. Olaf, 25-20, 27-25, 25-14
