University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, October 24
Fargo, N.D. / Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse
7:00 p.m. Central
12-9,4-5Summit League
2
at
3
North Dakota State
9-9,5-4Summit League
1
2
3
4
5
F
St. Thomas (MN)
21
25
28
25
12
2
North Dakota St.
25
27
26
22
15
3
Team Stats
UST
NDSU
Kills
56
55
Errors
31
39
Attempts
179
182
Hitting %
.140
.088
Points
70.0
85.0
Assists
53
53
Aces
5
16
Blocks
9
14
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
16
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH/RS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
Photo by: Collin Boyles
Tommies nearly complete reverse sweep Thursday at Bison
10/24/2024 10:27:00 PM | Volleyball
Gustafson, Rudzitis and Wetter combine for 45 kills
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Thomas volleyball nearly completed a reverse sweep Thursday night but were handed a five-set loss to North Dakota State (21-25, 25-27, 28-26, 25-22, 12-15) at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. Ellie Gustafson, Tezra Rudzitis and Megan Wetter combined for 45 kills as the Tommies fall to 12-9 overall and 4-5 in the Summit League.
Rudzitis and Wetter led the Tommies with 16 kills each, followed by 13 from Gustafson, while Rudzitis led the team with a .538 hitting percentage, her second highest of the season. Gustafson added 10 digs for her sixth double-double of the season while Morgan Kealy finished with 37 assists and 12 digs for her 13th of the season.
Wetter got the Tommies' scoring going with the first two kills of the match off assists from Kealy. NDSU scored the next four points for one of two quick lead changes, including a 8-2 string to give St. Thomas a 10-6 advantage. The Purple extended its lead to seven, 18-11, but scored just three points the rest of the game.
Addie Schmotzer accounted for the Tommies' first kill followed by three straight for Wetter to start set two, but the Bison opened the game on a 9-4 run. Wetter's third kill of the game began a 5-1 run to pull St. Thomas back within two, 10-8. Three kills from Rudzitis helped bring the Tommies back to tie, the tying point coming on an ace by Wetter. A 4-0 run late in the set gave the Tommies a 24-23 lead, but the Bison answered with four of the final five points to head into set three.
The Tommies took another lead in set three, this time scoring six straight before the Bison got on the board. NDSU went on to score four straight and nine of the next 10 to grab a 9-7 lead. A string of attack errors by the Bison allowed the Tommies on a 7-1 run to retake the lead, the first of three lead changes through the set. NDSU went on an 8-1 run and put pressure on with set point, 24-22. A kill by Rudzitis and Bison attack error forced extra points while kills from Rudzitis and Wetter helped the Tommies extend the match.
A kill by Rudzitis and service ace by Allie Kopp was part of a quick 3-1 start to the fourth set. Both teams traded leads before St. Thomas extended its lead to a set high three, 14-11 on three NDSU errors. The Bison tied the set three times, including a 3-0 run late for a 22-22 stalemate, but Ava Wild and Lauren Galvin hit back-to-back kills followed by an NDSU attack error to force a fifth set.
Kills by Wetter and Gustafson gave St. Thomas a 3-1 lead to start the final set but saw North Dakota State take its first lead, 6-4, off a 4-0 streak. The Tommies tied the set and retook the lead, 11-10, before the Bison scored five of the final six points, including three straight kills from Alexis Boling.
Top Tommies
Rudzitis and Wetter led the Tommies with 16 kills each, followed by 13 from Gustafson, while Rudzitis led the team with a .538 hitting percentage, her second highest of the season. Gustafson added 10 digs for her sixth double-double of the season while Morgan Kealy finished with 37 assists and 12 digs for her 13th of the season.
Wetter got the Tommies' scoring going with the first two kills of the match off assists from Kealy. NDSU scored the next four points for one of two quick lead changes, including a 8-2 string to give St. Thomas a 10-6 advantage. The Purple extended its lead to seven, 18-11, but scored just three points the rest of the game.
Addie Schmotzer accounted for the Tommies' first kill followed by three straight for Wetter to start set two, but the Bison opened the game on a 9-4 run. Wetter's third kill of the game began a 5-1 run to pull St. Thomas back within two, 10-8. Three kills from Rudzitis helped bring the Tommies back to tie, the tying point coming on an ace by Wetter. A 4-0 run late in the set gave the Tommies a 24-23 lead, but the Bison answered with four of the final five points to head into set three.
The Tommies took another lead in set three, this time scoring six straight before the Bison got on the board. NDSU went on to score four straight and nine of the next 10 to grab a 9-7 lead. A string of attack errors by the Bison allowed the Tommies on a 7-1 run to retake the lead, the first of three lead changes through the set. NDSU went on an 8-1 run and put pressure on with set point, 24-22. A kill by Rudzitis and Bison attack error forced extra points while kills from Rudzitis and Wetter helped the Tommies extend the match.
A kill by Rudzitis and service ace by Allie Kopp was part of a quick 3-1 start to the fourth set. Both teams traded leads before St. Thomas extended its lead to a set high three, 14-11 on three NDSU errors. The Bison tied the set three times, including a 3-0 run late for a 22-22 stalemate, but Ava Wild and Lauren Galvin hit back-to-back kills followed by an NDSU attack error to force a fifth set.
Kills by Wetter and Gustafson gave St. Thomas a 3-1 lead to start the final set but saw North Dakota State take its first lead, 6-4, off a 4-0 streak. The Tommies tied the set and retook the lead, 11-10, before the Bison scored five of the final six points, including three straight kills from Alexis Boling.
Top Tommies
- Tezra Rudzitis hit 16 kills on a .538 hitting percentage, marking her most kills since 18 on Sept. 20 at Chicago State and her second highest hitting percentage of the season. She added four blocks, all assisted, and four digs.
- Megan Wetter tied a career high with 16 kills, marking four straight double digit kill matches. She finished with three block assists and two service aces.
- Ellie Gustafson's 13 kills is the third straight match of exactly 13 kills. Her 10 digs is the 11th time this season reaching double figures, which includes her sixth double-double of the season and 11th of her career.
- Morgan Kealy marked her 13th double-double of the season and 21st of her career with 37 assists and 12 digs. Thursday was her fifth straight match with at least 37 assists while she also has a double-double in four of the last five.
- Addie Schmotzer led the Tommies with five blocks, including one solo. Ella Voegele paced the team with 20 digs, her ninth match this season with at least 20.
Up Next
St. Thomas and North Dakota will close the season series at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26 in Grand Forks, N.D.
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