St. Thomas concludes 2023 season with road trip to Oral Roberts and Kansas City

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Tommie Volleyball program wraps up the 2023 season with a pair of road matches against Summit League opponents Oral Roberts and Kansas City, with the Toms looking to even up the season series against both teams.

St. Thomas first embarks to Tulsa, Okla., to take on the Golden Eagles Sunday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. in the Cooper Aerobics Center. The Tommies then continue and finish up their season and Summit League play at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15 against the Roo's in Kansas City, Mo., in the Swinney Center.

Senior Day Recap
The 2023 home schedule ended Saturday for St. Thomas during a 3-0 loss (23-25, 17-25, 12-25) to Summit League leading Omaha. Sophomore Tezra Rudzitis had a strong match with a .500 hitting percentage for nine kills and two service aces. Seniors Ellie Dammann and Claire Ricard were celebrated as part of Senior Day prior to the match.

The Toms and Mavericks traded points over the first eight serves for a 4-4 tie. A kill by sophomore Ava Wild and Rudzitis, both assisted by sophomore Allie Kopp, helped the Tommies to the first two-point lead of the set, 6-4. Back-and-forth points kept the Tommies on top with a 12-9 score until the Mavericks went on a 4-0 run to take the lead. The Tommies were able to fight back and take the lead again, 19-16, with the help of two kills by Rudzitis and one each from Wild and junior Libby Mattila. UNO took nine of the final 13 points to take the first set.

The Mavericks came out hot in the second set with a 9-4 lead to start. St. Thomas was able to close the gap to four, 13-9, with kills by Rudzitis, Mattila and Wild. UNO was able to keep the demanding lead and took the second set. Omaha followed up with another strong performance in the third set. The Tommies kept the deficit at four, 8-4, but the Mavericks went on a 10-2 run to control the final set.

Eyeing in on the Golden Eagles
Oral Roberts hosts the Tommies with a 3-22 record and a 1-12 mark in Summit League play. Last week, the Golden Eagles suffered two losses against Denver in three sets and South Dakota State in four sets. Before taking on the Toms, Oral Roberts travels to Vermillion, South Dakota to take on the Coyotes Nov. 9 at 6 p.m.

The Golden Eagles rank fifth in the Summit League in digs per set (14.7) and seventh in service aces per set (1.4). Senior Kalena Vaivai ranks fifth overall in the Summit League for assists per set (7.86), junior Trinity Freeman ranks third in the Summit League in kills per set (3.52), and freshman Alaina Larson leads the Summit League in service aces per set (0.47).

Reporting on the Roo's
Kansas City enters the week with a 9-4 mark in league play and a 18-7 record overall. Three of their four losses in the Summit League schedule came in the month of October to Denver, South Dakota State, and North Dakota State.

Kansas City ranks third in the Summit League for points per set (16.6), second in hitting percentage (.240), second in assists per set (11.98), second in kills per set (12.9), and first overall in digs per set (16.3). Leading the way for the Roos, senior Carly Gillen is second in hitting percentage (.353) in the conference, with freshman Sydney Huyck ranking second in assists per set (10.1) and senior Odyssey Warren ranking second in kills per set (3.54).

Can You Dig It?
Voegele has been one of the best when it comes to digs in the Summit League, entering the week second in the conference with 4.08 digs per set. She set the St. Thomas DI record with 7.67 digs per set after totaling 23 digs in three sets against South Dakota State on Sept. 21.

Set Me Up
Freshman setter Morgan Kealy reached 500 assists on the season Oct. 17 against Kansas City. She entered the night with 497 and ranks sixth in the Summit League with 6.96 assists per set and 626 total assists.

Kealy has totaled at least 40 assists in three matches this season, which rank second, third and fourth for most single-match assists during the St. Thomas Division I era.

We'll Take Two Double-Doubles
Gustafson and Kealy both came away with double-doubles during a 3-2 win over North Dakota State Oct. 14. It's the second time two Tommies have recorded a double-double during the same match this season.

Gustafson came away with 15 digs and 13 kills for her second career double-double. She has now topped double-digit kills in seven of the last eight matches, including 13 during three of the last six.

Kealy finished with 18 digs and 15 assists against NDSU, which stands as her eighth double-double of the season and second in the month of October.

Two Time All-Tournament Team
Sophomore Ella Voegele ended the Tommie Volleyball tournament season with her second all-tournament team selection in Green Bay this past weekend. Voegele led the Purple in digs for the ninth time this season, adding 11 on Friday. She ended the tournament recording 21 digs in just the two Capital Credit Union Classic matches alone.

A Career-High Kind of Day
The Sept. 9 five-set, comeback victory over Northern Illinois was powered by career high offensive stats from several Tommies. Gustafson led the Tommies with 18 kills, five more than her previous career high set during the season opener at UIC and hit a career best .368.

Sophomore Kaitlynn Peterson also topped her previous career high in kills by five, finishing Saturday Sept. 9's match with 17. She added career bests with 18 points, eight digs, and one assist.

Sophomore Megan Wetter opened the tournament with a career high 12 kills in the win over Evansville before posting 16 against Northern Illinois. She tacked on one block and tied the St. Thomas NCAA Division I single-match record with five service aces to finish with 21.5 points against Northern Illinois.

Freshman Morgan Kealy accounted for 46 of the Tommies 60 assists against NIU, setting a new career best and topping her own mark for the second most assists in a single match for the Purple in the DI era. She recorded her eighth double-double of the season, the most for the Tommies since 2021, with 18 digs and 15 assists Oct. 14 in a win over North Dakota State.

Beginning Another Decade
Head Coach Thanh Pham, who will coach his 650th match with the Tommies this season, enters his 21st season leading the program. His tenure is the longest among the nine Summit League head coaches at their respective schools. Pham coached his 650th match with the program on Friday, Sept. 29, a road match at North Dakota.

The Staff's All Back
All four members of the Tommie Volleyball coaching staff return for the 2023 season. Joining Pham during the previous two seasons since joining NCAA Division I are assistant coaches Joy Tietz and David Ganser. In his second season with the program is assistant coach Kevin Rivas. Also in her second season is director of operations Malissa LeClaire.

Summit League Preseason Poll
The Tommies enter the season ranked eighth as the 2023 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll was released Wednesday, August 23. St. Thomas garnered 16 points to finish ahead of Oral Roberts in the poll.

Reigning Summit League regular season and tournament champion South Dakota was voted to finish first with 61 points and six first-place votes. North Dakota State followed in second with 54 points and two first-place votes while Omaha rounded out the top three spots with 53 points and the final first-place vote.

Keep an Eye Out
Junior outside hitter Lauren Galvin and sophomore middle blocker Emma Goerger were selected as the team's Players to Watch for 2023. Galvin led the Tommies and ranked 10th in the league with 3.12 kills per set and led the team and was 11th in the Summit with 3.49 points per set. Goerger led the Tommies with 0.97 blocks per set and followed Galvin with 2.67 points per set.

Nice to Meet You
Among the 11 non-conference opponents, the Tommies faced nine for the first time in program history. The only familiar opponents during the non-conference schedule are Montana State and Central Michigan. The Purple beat the Bobcats in five sets during the 2022 season before taking a 3-1 loss Aug. 31 to open the Tommie Invitational. St. Thomas also played Central Michigan in 2022, a 3-1 loss that was avenged with a 3-0 win on Sept. 14, 2023 in Green Bay, Wis.

The Youth Movement Continues
The 20-member Tommie squad is comprised of nine sophomores and five freshmen, to go along with two seniors and four juniors. St. Thomas is the only program in the country with a true sophomore class of at least nine student-athletes and is one of two to have a true sophomore, junior, or senior class of at least nine, joining UT Chattanooga who has a class of nine true juniors.

St. Thomas has seven new student-athletes on its roster this season: Bradley transfer and outside hitter Kaitlynn Peterson (Lakeville, Minn.), UNC Greensboro transfer and defensive specialist Ella Voegele (Plymouth, Minn.), freshman right side Emily Clausen (Waukesha, Wis.), freshman outside hitter Ellie Gustafson (Monticello, Wis.), freshman setter Morgan Kealy (River Falls, Wis.), freshman middle blocker Addison Schmotzer (Madison, Wis.), and freshman outside hitter Miriam Unongo (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Tommie Invitational Volleyball Tournament
The Tommies hosted their first tournament, the Tommie Invitational Volleyball Tournament, as an NCAA Division I program. St. Thomas went 1-2 during the tournament, grabbing a 3-1 win over California Baptist and taking losses of 3-1 to Milwaukee and Montana State.

Summit League Network
Beginning with the 2023 season, all home Tommie Volleyball matches, and all Summit League matches will be streamed exclusively on the Summit League Network, in partnership with Midco Sports. A subscription-based network, viewers can access all St. Thomas athletics events HERE.

Looking at the Yearbook
Reflecting on 2022, the Tommies fielded one of the youngest teams across all of NCAA Division I. Last year's squad included just one senior and three juniors with the youth of sophomores and freshmen including 16 student-athletes.

The Toms improved one victory over their 2021 season total as their second fall of Division I play, but the Purple continue to improve and compete at a high level. They picked up nonconference wins at 14-win Montana State and 18-win Saint Louis and swept Western Illinois in conference play. Both wins against Western Illinois came in straight sets.

All-Freshman Team: Part Two
Emma Goerger and Tezra Rudzitis followed in the footsteps of junior Lauren Galvin as selections to the seven-player Summit League All-Freshman Team last season. Goerger was one of four Toms to play in all 30 matches and ranked ninth in the league with 0.97 blocks per set and 24th with 2.67 points per set. She had 101 total blocks and 195 total kills. Rudzitis played in 28 matches with 21 starts and was second for St. Thomas with 2.07 kills per set (190 total kills).

Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Volleyball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram at @tommievball

-- St. Thomas Athletics --

St. Thomas concludes 2023 season with road trip to Oral Roberts and Kansas City

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Players Mentioned

Emily Clausen

Ellie Dammann

Lauren Galvin

Emma Goerger

Ellie Gustafson

Morgan Kealy

Allie Kopp

Libby Mattila

Kaitlynn Peterson

Claire Ricard

Tezra Rudzitis

Addie Schmotzer

Miriam Unongo

Ella Voegele

Megan Wetter

Ava Wild

University of St. Thomas Athletics