Voegele sets dig mark as Tommies beat Golden Eagles, 3-1

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Sophomore libero Ella Voegele's career day defensively helped St. Thomas volleyball take a 3-1 win (25-10, 23-25, 25-17, 25-19) over Oral Roberts Sunday in Tulsa, Okla. The Tommies improve to 7-19 overall and 3-12 in the Summit League heading into the final match of the season.

Voegele finished the day with 33 digs in four sets, breaking Carrie Rutledge's previous NCAA Division I program mark of 26, and topped her own record with 8.25 digs per set. The team also had its most digs with 90 total in four sets, breaking the 2021 DI mark against Western Illinois with 82 digs.

Freshman outside hitter Ellie Gustafson also added to the digs total with a career-high 23 along with 10 kills, marking her fifth double-double of the season. Junior outside hitter Libby Mattila notched her first double-double of the season with a team-high 14 kills and 11 digs.

RECAP
A five-point run helped the Tommies take a demanding lead at the start of the match with two kills by junior Libby Mattila and one by sophomore Tezra Rudzitis for a 6-1 score. Three more kills by Mattila and a kill by freshman Ellie Gustafson, senior Ellie Dammann and Rudzitis grew the lead, 15-7. The Golden Eagles were able to score three, but the Tommies took 10 of the final 11 points to secure the set, 25-10.

The Golden Eagles came out hot in the second set starting the match on an 8-2 run. A kill by sophomore Megan Wetter and then a four-point run with back-to-back kills by Gustafson put the Tommies back in the game, 10-7. The Golden Eagles had a three-point run that was quickly responded to with back-to-back service aces by Gustafson to make the score 14-11. ORU was able to keep the lead to win the set, 25-23.

The Tommies started the third set on top with two service aces from Voegele and sophomore Allie Kopp, 4-2. After back-and-forth points, the Tommies led 14-13 until a three-point rally with kills from Gustafson, Mattila and Dammann gave the Tommies a 17-13 lead. The Tommies took eight of the final11 points to win their second set of the day.

Mattila started the Tommies strong with three kills over the first six points for the Toms. Wetter had a kill and block assist with Dammann to add to a three-point rally and keep the Tommies on top, 10-5. The Tommies got a 4-0 run to advance the lead, 15-9. Back-to-back kills by Gustafson kept the lead at six with a 17-11 score. ORU couldn't make up the deficit and the Tommies took the match 25-19.

TOP TOMMIES

Junior outside hitter Libby Mattila led the Tommies with a career-high 14 kills and added 11 digs for her first double-double of the season and third of her career.
Sophomore libero Ella Voegele had 33 digs to average 8.25 a set and added two service aces.
Senior middle blocker Ellie Dammann had 12 kills and a block assist for 12.5 points. The block assist brought her career total to 200 since joining the program in 2020.
Freshman hitter Ellie Gustafson had 10 kills and three aces, as well as 23 digs for her fifth career double-double.

UP NEXT
The Tommies finish out the 2023 season on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. at Kansas City against the Roos.

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

-- St. Thomas Athletics --

Voegele sets dig mark as Tommies beat Golden Eagles, 3-1

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Team Stats

Libby Mattila

Ellie Dammann

Ellie Gustafson

Tezra Rudzitis

Players Mentioned

Ellie Dammann

Ellie Gustafson

Allie Kopp

Libby Mattila

Tezra Rudzitis

Carrie Rutledge

Ella Voegele

Megan Wetter

University of St. Thomas Athletics