University of St. Thomas Athletics
18-10,10-6Summit League
Oral Roberts
4-24,2-13Summit League
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Tommies honor seniors with 3-1 win over Oral Roberts
11/16/2024 4:28:00 PM | Volleyball
ST. PAUL, MINN. – It was a near perfect ending for a historic season. After setting multiple DI era records in 2024, the University of St. Thomas volleyball team needed to do just one final thing: close season with a victory. The Tommies did just that Saturday afternoon in Schoenecker Arena, defeating Oral Roberts 3-1 (25-18, 25-27, 25-16, 25-20) to cap an impressive 2024 campaign. With the victory, St. Thomas closes the season with a DI era best overall record of 18-10 and a 10-6 mark in Summit League play.
RECAP:
It took the Tommies a minute to settle into Saturday's match, as the Golden Eagles rushed out to a 3-0 lead before Tezra Rudzitis (Anoka, Minn. / Legacy Christian Academy) earned St. Thomas' first point of the night with a kill from the right side. However, the Tommies didn't take their first lead until a handful of points later, as four-point serving run by Ella Voegele (Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata) swung the momentum in St. Thomas' direction and gave the team a 9-6 advantage. The Tommies never looked back, though Oral Roberts did make things a little interesting. The Golden Eagles tied the set 11-11 and 13-13 before another serving run by Voegele truly cemented things for St. Thomas. The junior libero's five-point serving run was highlighted by kills from seniors Lauren Galvin (Woodbury, Minn. / East Ridge) and Lander Friederichs (Fargo, N.D. / Shanley) and gave the Tommies a 21-14 advantage.
St. Thomas four of the ensuing eight points to claim the first set by a final score of 25-18. However, it was not nearly as smooth sailing in the second, as Oral Roberts made several adjustments and jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. Tough serves and inconsistency from the Tommie offense allowed the Golden Eagles to push their lead to 13-7 and eventually 20-14 late in the set. However, St. Thomas showed life, rattling off four straight points on the serve of Galvin to cut the Oral Roberts lead to 20-19. From that point on, the Tommies and Golden Eagles traded points until Oral Roberts went up 24-22 with one of its best servers at the end line.
However, while the Golden Eagles had one of their best servers at the line, St. Thomas had two of its most lethal weapons at the net. The Tommies won the next two points, evening things at 24-24 thanks to kills from Megan Wetter (Monticello, Minn. / Monticello) and Galvin. Oral Roberts, though, would earn the second set victory 27-25, ensuring at least four sets would be played in Schoenecker Arena.
St. Thomas made quick work of the third set, as a nine-point serving run by senior defensive specialist Payton Willman (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South) all but sealed the win. The Tommies held a slim 15-13 lead with Willman started serving and led 24-14 at the end of her run, which was highlighted with kills from Morgan Kealy (River Falls, Wis. / River Falls, Galvin and Addie Schmotzer (Madison, Wis. / Edgewood).
After winning the third set 25-16, St. Thomas owned a 2-1 advantage in the match and looked to close the door in the fourth. While Oral Roberts hung around, the Golden Eagles could never quite catch the Tommies, getting within four points in the final points of the match. Up 24-20, Kealy looked to Friederichs for the final swing of the season, as the senior middle blocker capped 2024 and her career with a kill, securing a 3-1 (25-18, 25-27, 25-16, 25-20) victory for St. Thomas.
TOP TOMMIES
- Lauren Galvin (Woodbury, Minn. / East Ridge) closed her St. Thomas career with another double-double, as she closed the match with a team and match leading 23 kills, her third 20+ kill performance this season. Galvin also tallied 11 digs in the win and hit .380.
- Morgan Kealy (River Falls, Wis. / River Falls) piloted the Tommie offense with 42 assists and added 15 digs for her 19th double-double of the 2024 season.
- Ella Voegele (Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata) led St. Thomas with 17 digs while Allie Kopp (Champlin, Minn. / Champlin Park) added 16.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
Thanks to the win on Saturday, St. Thomas set program records for the most wins in the DI era, closing the season with an overall record of 18-10. The Tommies also secured the most Summit League wins of the DI era thanks to its 10-6 record and has now defeated every team in the conference except Omaha.
