University of St. Thomas Athletics

Saturday, October 26
Grand Forks, N.D. / Betty Engelstad Sioux Center
12:00 p.m. Central

13-9,5-5Summit League

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North Dakota

8-13,1-9Summit League

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St. Thomas (MN)
25
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25
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North Dakota
18
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Megan Wetter jumps for an attack at North Dakota
Photo by: Collin Boyles

Offensive attack leads Tommies to season sweep over Fighting Hawks

10/26/2024 2:41:00 PM | Volleyball

St. Thomas wins in straight sets behind .619 hitting percentage from Megan Wetter

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- St. Thomas Volleyball dominated North Dakota in a straight-set victory Saturday, taking the match 25-18, 25-15, 25-20 at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Megan Wetter led with 13 kills and a career high .619 hitting percentage as the Tommies swept the season series against the Fighting Hawks.
 
St. Thomas (13-9, 5-5 Summit League) outhit North Dakota (8-13, 1-9 Summit League) with a .328 hitting percentage to UND's .149, taking control early in each set. The Tommies leveraged strong performances from Wetter and Lauren Galvin, who followed with 10 kills and a .250 hitting percentage.
 
Setter Morgan Kealy directed the Tommies' offense with 35 assists and added 12 digs for her 14th double-double of the season. Tezra Rudzitis added nine kills on a .333 hitting percentage, while libero Ella Voegele anchored the defense with a match-high 18 digs.
 
Despite North Dakota scoring five of the first seven points of the opening set, Rudzitis's first kill of the match started a 5-1 run to take an 8-6 lead. UND tied the set with two straight points before Wetter laid down a kill to take the final lead. Rudzitis put together three straight kills to help St. Thomas take a set high seven-point lead, 21-14.
 
The Tommies kept up their momentum with a .387 hitting percentage, while a match high seven errors by the Fighting Hawks limited them to a .122 hitting percentage. St. Thomas jumped ahead with the first three points and extended the lead to 8-2 behind four kills from Wetter. Galvin accounted for five kills through the set including her fourth for a set high nine-point lead, 21-12, and the set point.
 
Set three stayed close early and featured two lead changes, the final coming on back-to-back kills from Addie Schmotzer to go ahead 3-2. The Tommies slowly extended its lead behind a combined nine kills from Rudzitis and Ellie Gustafson before a late run by the Fighting Hawks. After three straight points from UND to trail 23-20, Gustafson hit her seventh and final kill of the match followed by a UND attack error to close the St. Thomas win.
 
Top Tommies
·      Megan Wetter hit 13 kills with no errors on 21 attacks for a career high .619 hitting percentage. She has double figure kills in five straight matches and hit above .300 in nine of the last 10. Wetter finished with two blocks, one solo and one assisted, to finish with multiple blocks for the 16th match this season.
·      Lauren Galvin finished with 10 kills, a .250 hitting percentage and six digs. She has 938 career kills and added one block assist Saturday for 96 total blocks in her career.
·      Tezra Rudzitis totaled nine kills on a .333 hitting percentage while Ellie Gustafson and Addie Schmotzer each added seven kills. Gustafson also recorded 15 digs, her third most in a match this season.
·      Morgan Kealy earned her 14th double-double of the season, including five of the last six matches, with 35 assists and 12 digs. Ella Voegele once again led the Tommies with 18 digs.
 
Up Next
St. Thomas returns to Schoenecker Arena Thursday, Oct. 31 to host Voll-o-ween against Denver before welcoming in Omaha on Saturday, Nov. 2.
 
Follow Along 
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-- St. Thomas Athletics -- 
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