Bright spots for Volleyball in 3-0 loss to Iowa State

Facing its second Power 5 team in 24 hours, Tommie Volleyball pushed Iowa State for much of the match in an eventual 3-0 loss to the Cyclones Friday evening at Maturi Pavilion at the University of Minnesota's Diet Coke Classic. Iowa State won 25-12, 26-24, 25-15.

The Cyclones (8-2) hit .322 and recorded eight service aces. But the Tommies (1-9) show grit and poise at several moments here on Friday, something that Coach Thanh Pham said is a building block for his young team in year one of Division I play. Hannah Pham has 12 assists and eight digs; Selena Levendoski added six kills; and Carrie Rutledge has 12 digs.

Freshman Lauren Galvin had seven kills, three aces and 12 digs to lead the Purple. Han

Pham said his players learned valuable lessons Thursday night in a 3-0 loss to No. 11-ranked Minnesota. He praised the approach and consistency the Tommies showed here Friday as it rebounded nicely against a tough Iowa State team.

"We were a liitle bit more composed today than we were (Thursday),' Pham said. "Playing in this venue is so special for so many of these players, and it was hard to get over those emotions against the Gophers.

"I thought our team did a much better job today. Obviously, Iowa State is really a good team, and to push them to extra points in the second set was big for us. We have a learning curve and a growth process, but today was a big step for us."

Pham's team gets a rare Saturday off competition, and will start preparing for the opening of the Summit League schedule next week. He said playing the Gophers and Cyclones -- teams with impressive size and athleticism that can cover the entire floor -- will prepare the Tommies for the challenges they'll see in their new conference

(Iowa State) is just big. It's hard to get used to that (size), but eventually we will. A couple of times we thought the ball was down (for a point) but with their long limbs they were able to pop it up with no problem. The University of Minnesota and Iowa State might be the two best teams we see this year, and everyone else might be just a notch down. There are a lot of really good teams in the Summit League, but I don't think there's a (top-10 nationally-ranked) good team.' This will give us a lot of confidence going into conference play."

Bright spots for Volleyball in 3-0 loss to Iowa State

Next Event

Team Stats

Lauren Galvin

Selena Levendoski

Claire Ricard

Lander Friederichs

Players Mentioned

Lauren Galvin

Selena Levendoski

Hannah Pham

Carrie Rutledge

University of St. Thomas Athletics