University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, October 14
St. Paul, Minn.
12:00 p.m. Central
5-13,1-6Summit League
3
vs
2
North Dakota State
11-7,3-4Summit League
1
2
3
4
5
F
North Dakota St.
30
25
23
21
7
2
St. Thomas (MN)
28
18
25
25
15
3
Team Stats
NDSU
UST
Kills
61
63
Errors
26
21
Attempts
176
192
Hitting %
.199
.219
Points
71.0
82.0
Assists
58
57
Aces
4
8
Blocks
6
11
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH/RS
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
Photo by: Orney Walker
Career-high efforts propel Tommies to reverse sweep over Bison
10/14/2023 3:32:00 PM | Volleyball
Kopp records career high 33 assists, Rudzitis career high 16 kills
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Career-high efforts from sophomores Allie Kopp and Tezra Rudzitis helped propel St. Thomas volleyball to a 3-2 win (28-30, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-7) Saturday against North Dakota State in Schoenecker Arena. The Tommies improve to 5-13 overall and 1-6 in the Summit League.
Kopp led the team with a career high 33 assists while Rudzitis also led the team with a career high 16 kills. Kopp totaled 10 assists in the first set alone while Rudzitis was one of three Tommies with five block assists, helping the team tie a season high with 11 total blocks.
The Tommies hit over .200 in every set but the second, including a .342 hitting percentage with only one error on 38 total attempts in the fourth set.
RECAP
Dammann followed up an NDSU attack error with her first of eight kills in the match to give the Tommies a quick 2-0 lead. The Purple and Bison stayed within two points of each other and faced five ties before NDSU grabbed its first lead, 12-11. Following a two-point lead for the Bison, the Tommies scored three straight to regain the lead. The lead changed hands again twice, including a kill from Rudzitis to give the Toms their largest lead of the set, 20-17. The Bison came back to again tie and hold a set point, 25-24. Kills by Rudzitis and Gustafson and a solo block by Dammann gave St. Thomas a chance at set point but North Dakota State eventually pulled away and won the set on a challenged call.
NDSU held the early lead in set two before three straight St. Thomas points set the score at 4-4. The Bison followed with four straight points to lead for the remainder of the set. Twelve of the Toms' 18 points came by kills, including four from Wetter, while the Bison hit .273 with just three attack errors.
The Tommies flipped the script in set three while hitting .220 with just four attack errors. An NDSU attack error set up a kill by Rudzitis and a block assist by Damman and Rudzitis to give St. Thomas a 3-0 lead. The Bison hung around and kept the Tommies' lead at three until a 4-0 run, capped by another block assist by Dammann and Rudzitis, handed the squad its largest lead of the set, 14-9. The Tommie lead was in jeopardy after the Bison tied the set, 21-21, but the connection of setter Allie Kopp and Rudzitis combined for three of the final four points to secure the St. Thomas set win.
Junior Libby Mattila had a hand in St. Thomas' first three points of the fourth set, including one kill, one block assist and one assist, as the Purple went ahead, 3-1. Following two NDSU attack errors and a service ace by sophomore Morgan Kealy for a 6-1 lead, the Bison went on a 6-1 run to tied the set. Neither team pulled away by more than two points until back-to-back kills by Gustafson sparked a quick 3-0 run to lead, 20-17. Mattila accounted for back-to-back kills to set up set point, which was converted by Kealy on a service ace.
St. Thomas' top two killers put the Tommies on the board first, Rudzitis with her 15th of 16 kills and Gustafson with her 13th and final kill of the day. NDSU tied the set at 2-2 and 4-4 before an 8-1 run, including five straight from the Purple, forced two Bison timeouts. Rudzitis and Wetter protected the net with back-to-back block assists while the run concluded on a block assist from Mattila and Wetter to lead, 12-5. An NDSU attack error and kill by Wetter set up the match-sealing service ace by junior Payton Willman.
TOP TOMMIES
· Sophomore Allie Kopp led the Tommies and set a career high 33 assists, topping her previous mark of 29 set Oct. 8 2022 against South Dakota State. It's the 10th instance of a Tommie topping 30 assists this season, with the other nine coming from freshman Morgan Kealy.
· Sophomore Tezra Rudzitis led the team with 16 kills, totaling seven in the third set and five in the first. She hit .297 from the floor with five block assists for 18.5 total points.
· Sophomore Megan Wetter and freshman Ellie Gustafson followed Rudzitis in kills, both topping the double digit mark. Gustafson, now with eight double-digit kill matches, hit a team best .333 from the floor and chipped in 15 digs. Wetter finished with 10 kills, her fourth double-digit kill match, and added five block assists.
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Thanh Pham's thoughts following the comeback win over North Dakota State on Saturday:
"We're feeling a lot of pride. NDSU is a great program and we respect the hell out of them. For us to be able to come back, I know I've said that we've shown progress even through our losses, it shows the progress through our wins."
"We had a lot of really good upperclassmen leadership. We got two of our upperclassmen back for this match in Libby Mattila and Ellie Dammann and they led the way."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas turns around for a mid-week matchup Tuesday, Oct. 17 at home against Kansas City. The Tommies and Roos begin at 7 p.m. from Schoenecker Arena for their first of two season meetings.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Volleyball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram at @tommievball
JOIN US
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2023 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Kopp led the team with a career high 33 assists while Rudzitis also led the team with a career high 16 kills. Kopp totaled 10 assists in the first set alone while Rudzitis was one of three Tommies with five block assists, helping the team tie a season high with 11 total blocks.
The Tommies hit over .200 in every set but the second, including a .342 hitting percentage with only one error on 38 total attempts in the fourth set.
RECAP
Dammann followed up an NDSU attack error with her first of eight kills in the match to give the Tommies a quick 2-0 lead. The Purple and Bison stayed within two points of each other and faced five ties before NDSU grabbed its first lead, 12-11. Following a two-point lead for the Bison, the Tommies scored three straight to regain the lead. The lead changed hands again twice, including a kill from Rudzitis to give the Toms their largest lead of the set, 20-17. The Bison came back to again tie and hold a set point, 25-24. Kills by Rudzitis and Gustafson and a solo block by Dammann gave St. Thomas a chance at set point but North Dakota State eventually pulled away and won the set on a challenged call.
NDSU held the early lead in set two before three straight St. Thomas points set the score at 4-4. The Bison followed with four straight points to lead for the remainder of the set. Twelve of the Toms' 18 points came by kills, including four from Wetter, while the Bison hit .273 with just three attack errors.
The Tommies flipped the script in set three while hitting .220 with just four attack errors. An NDSU attack error set up a kill by Rudzitis and a block assist by Damman and Rudzitis to give St. Thomas a 3-0 lead. The Bison hung around and kept the Tommies' lead at three until a 4-0 run, capped by another block assist by Dammann and Rudzitis, handed the squad its largest lead of the set, 14-9. The Tommie lead was in jeopardy after the Bison tied the set, 21-21, but the connection of setter Allie Kopp and Rudzitis combined for three of the final four points to secure the St. Thomas set win.
Junior Libby Mattila had a hand in St. Thomas' first three points of the fourth set, including one kill, one block assist and one assist, as the Purple went ahead, 3-1. Following two NDSU attack errors and a service ace by sophomore Morgan Kealy for a 6-1 lead, the Bison went on a 6-1 run to tied the set. Neither team pulled away by more than two points until back-to-back kills by Gustafson sparked a quick 3-0 run to lead, 20-17. Mattila accounted for back-to-back kills to set up set point, which was converted by Kealy on a service ace.
St. Thomas' top two killers put the Tommies on the board first, Rudzitis with her 15th of 16 kills and Gustafson with her 13th and final kill of the day. NDSU tied the set at 2-2 and 4-4 before an 8-1 run, including five straight from the Purple, forced two Bison timeouts. Rudzitis and Wetter protected the net with back-to-back block assists while the run concluded on a block assist from Mattila and Wetter to lead, 12-5. An NDSU attack error and kill by Wetter set up the match-sealing service ace by junior Payton Willman.
TOP TOMMIES
· Sophomore Allie Kopp led the Tommies and set a career high 33 assists, topping her previous mark of 29 set Oct. 8 2022 against South Dakota State. It's the 10th instance of a Tommie topping 30 assists this season, with the other nine coming from freshman Morgan Kealy.
· Sophomore Tezra Rudzitis led the team with 16 kills, totaling seven in the third set and five in the first. She hit .297 from the floor with five block assists for 18.5 total points.
· Sophomore Megan Wetter and freshman Ellie Gustafson followed Rudzitis in kills, both topping the double digit mark. Gustafson, now with eight double-digit kill matches, hit a team best .333 from the floor and chipped in 15 digs. Wetter finished with 10 kills, her fourth double-digit kill match, and added five block assists.
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Thanh Pham's thoughts following the comeback win over North Dakota State on Saturday:
"We're feeling a lot of pride. NDSU is a great program and we respect the hell out of them. For us to be able to come back, I know I've said that we've shown progress even through our losses, it shows the progress through our wins."
"We had a lot of really good upperclassmen leadership. We got two of our upperclassmen back for this match in Libby Mattila and Ellie Dammann and they led the way."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas turns around for a mid-week matchup Tuesday, Oct. 17 at home against Kansas City. The Tommies and Roos begin at 7 p.m. from Schoenecker Arena for their first of two season meetings.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Volleyball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram at @tommievball
JOIN US
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2023 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
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