University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, October 3
Vermillion, S.D. / Sanford Coyote Sports Center
7:00 p.m. Central
9-6,1-2Summit League
3
at
0
South Dakota
10-4,2-1Summit League
1
2
3
F
St. Thomas (MN)
25
26
25
3
South Dakota
18
24
20
0
Team Stats
UST
SD
Kills
44
43
Errors
9
19
Attempts
110
120
Hitting %
.318
.200
Points
54.0
51.0
Assists
39
43
Aces
3
2
Blocks
7
6
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH/RS
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Volleyball stuns USD in road sweep behind Gustafson double-double
10/3/2024 9:31:00 PM | Volleyball
Sophomore led Tommies with 13 kills and 10 digs in program’s first win over Coyotes
VERMILLION, S.D. -- St. Thomas volleyball came away with its first win over South Dakota in resounding fashion Thursday night (25-18, 26-24, 25-20) in Vermillion, S.D. The Tommies improve to 9-6 overall and 1-2 in the Summit League and handed the Coyotes their fourth loss (10-4) as they move to 2-1 in league play.
Entering Thursday's match, the Tommies had won just two sets through six matches in the series. Sophomore Ellie Gustafson's fourth double-double of the season helped top that set win total tonight alone as she led the Tommies with 13 kills and 10 digs, to go along with a .310 hitting percentage.
St. Thomas played well offensively with a .318 hitting percentage, allowing just nine total attack errors, compared to 19 attack errors and a .200 hitting percentage for South Dakota.
The Tommies' dominant night began right away with the first three points of the opening set, aided by two attack errors from the Coyotes. Lauren Galvin's first of 11 kills on the night helped St. Thomas keep the lead for the entirety of the set, extending its lead to as many as eight points late. The second of three kills in the game by Tezra Rudzitis was followed by an ace from Galvin to push the Tommies ahead, 22-14, while Gustafson's second kill closed the door.
The Coyotes flipped the script to start set two with the first four points before extending its lead to five, 8-3. A USD service error allowed Gustafson to serve and start a 7-0 run, which included three straight blocks (one solo by Megan Wetter and two assisted by Wetter and Morgan Kealy) to force a South Dakota timeout. After leading, 10-9, the Tommie lead quickly disappeared as both teams went on to tie the set nine times, neither team leading by more than two points the rest of the way. The Tommies faced two set-point serves that were answered by the Coyotes but finally clinched the game on an attack error that went behind the back line, which was unsuccessfully challenged.
Gustafson came alive to start the final set as she scored the Tommies' first five points, all on kills. Following the first two kills from Gustafson, USD tied the game with a kill and St. Thomas attack error for the only tie of the set. Another set of back-to-back kills by Gustafson handed the lead back for the final time. After the Coyotes pulled within one, 10-9, the Tommies went on a 10-4 run for its largest lead of the set, 20-13, to force a timeout. Four different Tommies combined to hit kills over the final five points to secure the third sweep of the season.
Top Tommies
· Ellie Gustafson led the Tommies in both kills with 13 and digs with 10, tying Ella Voegele, to mark her fourth double-double of the season and ninth of her career. She finished with a .310 hitting percentage, her third best percentage in a match this season. Gustafson has double-digit digs in five straight matches, while all four of her double-doubles have come during that stretch.
· The offense continues to funnel through Morgan Kealy as she led the team with 30 assists. Her three blocks was one shy of tying a career high as she now has five career matches with at least three blocks.
· Lauren Galvin followed Gustafson with 11 kills and a .370 hitting percentage, only bested by Megan Wetter who totaled a .412 hitting percentage with seven kills. Wetter led the Tommies with seven total blocks, her third match of the season and fourth career with at least seven blocks.
Up Next
St. Thomas returns home Saturday, Oct. 5 to host Kansas City at Schoenecker Arena. The Tommies are looking for their first win over the Roos since joining the Summit League in 2021.
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' 2024 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Entering Thursday's match, the Tommies had won just two sets through six matches in the series. Sophomore Ellie Gustafson's fourth double-double of the season helped top that set win total tonight alone as she led the Tommies with 13 kills and 10 digs, to go along with a .310 hitting percentage.
St. Thomas played well offensively with a .318 hitting percentage, allowing just nine total attack errors, compared to 19 attack errors and a .200 hitting percentage for South Dakota.
The Tommies' dominant night began right away with the first three points of the opening set, aided by two attack errors from the Coyotes. Lauren Galvin's first of 11 kills on the night helped St. Thomas keep the lead for the entirety of the set, extending its lead to as many as eight points late. The second of three kills in the game by Tezra Rudzitis was followed by an ace from Galvin to push the Tommies ahead, 22-14, while Gustafson's second kill closed the door.
The Coyotes flipped the script to start set two with the first four points before extending its lead to five, 8-3. A USD service error allowed Gustafson to serve and start a 7-0 run, which included three straight blocks (one solo by Megan Wetter and two assisted by Wetter and Morgan Kealy) to force a South Dakota timeout. After leading, 10-9, the Tommie lead quickly disappeared as both teams went on to tie the set nine times, neither team leading by more than two points the rest of the way. The Tommies faced two set-point serves that were answered by the Coyotes but finally clinched the game on an attack error that went behind the back line, which was unsuccessfully challenged.
Gustafson came alive to start the final set as she scored the Tommies' first five points, all on kills. Following the first two kills from Gustafson, USD tied the game with a kill and St. Thomas attack error for the only tie of the set. Another set of back-to-back kills by Gustafson handed the lead back for the final time. After the Coyotes pulled within one, 10-9, the Tommies went on a 10-4 run for its largest lead of the set, 20-13, to force a timeout. Four different Tommies combined to hit kills over the final five points to secure the third sweep of the season.
Top Tommies
· Ellie Gustafson led the Tommies in both kills with 13 and digs with 10, tying Ella Voegele, to mark her fourth double-double of the season and ninth of her career. She finished with a .310 hitting percentage, her third best percentage in a match this season. Gustafson has double-digit digs in five straight matches, while all four of her double-doubles have come during that stretch.
· The offense continues to funnel through Morgan Kealy as she led the team with 30 assists. Her three blocks was one shy of tying a career high as she now has five career matches with at least three blocks.
· Lauren Galvin followed Gustafson with 11 kills and a .370 hitting percentage, only bested by Megan Wetter who totaled a .412 hitting percentage with seven kills. Wetter led the Tommies with seven total blocks, her third match of the season and fourth career with at least seven blocks.
Up Next
St. Thomas returns home Saturday, Oct. 5 to host Kansas City at Schoenecker Arena. The Tommies are looking for their first win over the Roos since joining the Summit League in 2021.
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' 2024 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
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