University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, September 20
Green Bay, Wis. / Kress Center
11:00 a.m. Central
7-4,0-0Summit League
3
vs
1
Chicago State
4-7,0-0NEC
1
2
3
4
F
St. Thomas (MN)
25
25
22
30
3
Chicago St.
19
17
25
28
1
Team Stats
UST
CSU
Kills
61
59
Errors
19
28
Attempts
184
188
Hitting %
.228
.165
Points
78.0
68.0
Assists
59
57
Aces
4
3
Blocks
13
6
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH/RS
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Volleyball wins eighth of last nine to close non-conference play Friday
9/20/2024 10:06:00 PM | Volleyball
St. Thomas defeated Chicago State in four sets, Green Bay in five in thrillers
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- For the seventh and eighth times over the last nine matches, St. Thomas volleyball came away with wins after taking down Chicago State (25-19, 25-17, 22-25, 30-28) and Green Bay (25-15, 25-21, 20-25, 13-25, 15-12) at the Capital Credit Union Classic in Green Bay, Wis. The Tommies are 8-4 overall exiting non-conference play, surpassing their overall win total from a season ago and setting a new Division single-season high.
Chicago State – W, 3-1
The Tommies overcame an early deficit to start the match, trailing 9-4 before a service error from Chicago State allowed St. Thomas to a quick 5-1 run to pull within one. Addie Schmotzer's second kill of the set sparked another run, this time of 11-3, to take control of the set. Five Tommies each recorded kills during the stretch led by Ellie Gustafson with three and Morgan Kealy with two. After CSU cut the lead to three, a kill from Lauren Galvin and back-to-back Cougar errors gave the Tommies the opening game win.
Both teams stayed within two points to start set two until a 6-1 run gave the Purple momentum and a 12-6 lead. The Tommies kept the Cougars separated by at least five points the rest of the set after hitting .394 with only four team errors. Tezra Rudzitis recorded seven of her career high 18 kills in the second set, including the final three points for the Tommies.
St. Thomas scored the first two points of the third set, which would stand as its only lead of the game. Despite hitting a match low .043 in the third set, the Tommies fought back to trail by two, 24-22, before an attack error gave Chicago State its first set win.
The Tommies answered three straight points by the Cougars with a 10-1 run to begin the final set. Following traded points, the Cougars took advantage of a Tommie service error for a 10-0 run, including eight straight kills, to take a 15-11 lead. The Purple closed the set hitting .295 which allowed them to chip away and cut the deficit to one, 22-21, on Galvin's final kill of the day. Kills from Wetter and Kealy were part of a 3-0 Tommie run to force the game to extra points. Both teams traded points until back-to-back kills from Wetter to secure the team's seventh win, matching the 2023 season total, over the last eight matches.
Green Bay – W, 3-2
A pair of early service aces from Allie Kopp helped overtake a Phoenix lead to put the Tommies ahead, 5-2. The separation grew shortly after following five straight St. Thomas points that forced a Green Bay timeout. The lead grew to as many as 11, 23-12, behind a .306 hitting percentage during the set one win.
Green Bay grabbed the first lead of the second set and held it until Galvin started a 3-0 run to put St. Thomas ahead, 9-8. Both teams traded leads once more before back-to-back kills from Gustafson pushed the Tommies ahead for the final time. Gustafson closed the set win with her fifth kill as the Tommies hit .231 from the floor.
The Phoenix arms came alive in the third and fourth sets while totaling 14 and 17 kills in each set, respectively. St. Thomas hit .214 in the third game before posting a .176 hitting percentage in the fourth, despite allowing just three attack errors in the fourth.
Green Bay took control of the first point in the final set before four kills from Gustafson, one from Rudzitis and a Phoenix attack error put St. Thomas ahead, 8-3. The Tommies held the Phoenix away by two points the rest of the way as Kealy dumped down the match-winning kill.
Top Tommies
Chicago State – W, 3-1
The Tommies overcame an early deficit to start the match, trailing 9-4 before a service error from Chicago State allowed St. Thomas to a quick 5-1 run to pull within one. Addie Schmotzer's second kill of the set sparked another run, this time of 11-3, to take control of the set. Five Tommies each recorded kills during the stretch led by Ellie Gustafson with three and Morgan Kealy with two. After CSU cut the lead to three, a kill from Lauren Galvin and back-to-back Cougar errors gave the Tommies the opening game win.
Both teams stayed within two points to start set two until a 6-1 run gave the Purple momentum and a 12-6 lead. The Tommies kept the Cougars separated by at least five points the rest of the set after hitting .394 with only four team errors. Tezra Rudzitis recorded seven of her career high 18 kills in the second set, including the final three points for the Tommies.
St. Thomas scored the first two points of the third set, which would stand as its only lead of the game. Despite hitting a match low .043 in the third set, the Tommies fought back to trail by two, 24-22, before an attack error gave Chicago State its first set win.
The Tommies answered three straight points by the Cougars with a 10-1 run to begin the final set. Following traded points, the Cougars took advantage of a Tommie service error for a 10-0 run, including eight straight kills, to take a 15-11 lead. The Purple closed the set hitting .295 which allowed them to chip away and cut the deficit to one, 22-21, on Galvin's final kill of the day. Kills from Wetter and Kealy were part of a 3-0 Tommie run to force the game to extra points. Both teams traded points until back-to-back kills from Wetter to secure the team's seventh win, matching the 2023 season total, over the last eight matches.
Green Bay – W, 3-2
A pair of early service aces from Allie Kopp helped overtake a Phoenix lead to put the Tommies ahead, 5-2. The separation grew shortly after following five straight St. Thomas points that forced a Green Bay timeout. The lead grew to as many as 11, 23-12, behind a .306 hitting percentage during the set one win.
Green Bay grabbed the first lead of the second set and held it until Galvin started a 3-0 run to put St. Thomas ahead, 9-8. Both teams traded leads once more before back-to-back kills from Gustafson pushed the Tommies ahead for the final time. Gustafson closed the set win with her fifth kill as the Tommies hit .231 from the floor.
The Phoenix arms came alive in the third and fourth sets while totaling 14 and 17 kills in each set, respectively. St. Thomas hit .214 in the third game before posting a .176 hitting percentage in the fourth, despite allowing just three attack errors in the fourth.
Green Bay took control of the first point in the final set before four kills from Gustafson, one from Rudzitis and a Phoenix attack error put St. Thomas ahead, 8-3. The Tommies held the Phoenix away by two points the rest of the way as Kealy dumped down the match-winning kill.
Top Tommies
- Tezra Rudzitis set a career high 18 kills against Chicago State to lead St. Thomas for the sixth time this season. Her .410 hitting percentage was the 12th career match above that mark as she also surpassed 500 career kills in the match. Rudzitis followed to surpass 100 career blocks against Green Bay, where she again led the team with 15 kills and a .379 hitting percentage. She has double digit kills in seven of the last eight matches, hitting at least .267 from the floor in those matches.
- Morgan Kealy tied a career high 46 assists with 12 digs against Chicago State before setting a new career best with 53 assists against Green Bay. She recorded double-doubles in both matches for her seventh and eighth of the season and 15th and 16th of her career. Kealy's 53 assists are second for St. Thomas during the Division I era and she has totaled at least 42 assists in each of the last four matches.
- Ellie Gustafson tied a season high 17 digs to go along with 11 kills against Chicago State for her second double-double of the season. She tied Rudzitis with a season-high 15 kills along with 13 digs for her third double-double of the season and ninth of her career. Gustafson led the Tommies in kills for the third time this season while she's recorded double digit kills in four straight matches.
- Megan Wetter set a season high 14 kills against Chicago State, her most since 16 on Sept. 9, 2023 against NIU, and led the team in blocks for the eighth time this season. She hit above .300 from the floor in both matches Friday.
- Addie Schmotzer started the day with five blocks and nine kills, both one shy of career highs, against Chicago State before tying a career high six blocks against Green Bay. She added seven kills and hit .294 against the Phoenix.
- Allie Kopp tied a season high 15 digs against Chicago State before adding 12 against Green Bay, along with three service aces. Kopp has double figure digs in six of the last eight matches.
- Lauren Galvin notched her fourth double double of the season and 16th of her career with 11 kills and 11 digs against Green Bay.
- Ella Voegele led the Tommies in digs for the 11th and 12th matches of the season with 28 against Chicago State and 27 against Green Bay. She now has at least 27 digs in three of the last four matches.
Up Next
St. Thomas concluded its non-conference season and welcomes in North Dakota State to Schoenecker Arena Thursday, Sept. 26 to open the Summit League schedule. The Tommies and Bison are set for first serve at 7 p.m. in St. Paul before the Purple travel to Omaha, Neb., to take on Omaha on Sautrday, Sept. 28.
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