Wetter tallies 17 kills, 7 blocks as Tommies outlast Fighting Hawks

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Three of Thursday night's sets went to extra points as St. Thomas volleyball (11-6, 4-2 Summit League) outlasted North Dakota in four sets (25-16, 31-29, 26-28, 26-24) in Schoenecker Arena. Megan Wetter finished with a team-high 17 kills and 7 blocks while Morgan Kealy totaled 52 assists and 15 digs for her 10th double-double of the season.

SCORING SUMMARY
Set One: St. Thomas began to pull away early behind a 4–0 run featuring two Megan Wetter kills and an Allie Kopp ace to go up 8–4. North Dakota rallied to take its lone lead at 13–12 before the Tommies closed the frame in dominant fashion, ending on a 13–1 surge fueled by steady serving and six Fighting Hawk attack errors to claim the opening set.

Set Two: Wetter and Ellie Gustafson each notched two early kills as the Tommies jumped ahead 9–5, a stretch capped by a Wetter ace. St. Thomas extended its lead to 13–7 before UND responded with a 13–6 run to move in front 20–19. The set featured 12 ties and eight lead changes, with North Dakota earning three set-point chances. The Tommies held firm, capitalizing on a UND service error and sealing the marathon frame behind an ace from Morgan Kealy and a kill by Tezra Rudzitis for the 31–29 win.

Set Three: In a back-and-forth battle that featured 21 ties and 10 lead changes, neither team led by more than two points. St. Thomas held two match points at 25–24 and 26–25 but was unable to convert, as three late attack errors allowed North Dakota to extend the match with a 28–26 victory.

Set Four: After North Dakota opened with a 2–0 lead, back-to-back kills and an ace from Gustafson powered a 4–0 Tommie run that gave UST the lead for good. UND tied the set four times, including at 24–24, but Gustafson delivered another kill before teaming with Emma Goerger on a block assist to close out the match and secure the 3–1 St. Thomas win.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

St. Thomas continued its perfect start to home play, now 3-0 on the season in Schoenecker Arena. It's the second straight season starting 3-0 at home.
The Tommies hit .215 through the match, its second lowest during a win this season, and held the Fighting Hawks to .088, a season low. The Purple totaled 81.0 points compared to 55.0 for UND, but St. Thomas totaled 23 service errors, topping its previous season high of 14.
Senior Megan Wetter led the Tommies with 17 kills, tying a career high, and 7 blocks, 2 shy of tying her career high. She hit a team-best .324 from the floor and added 3 digs, 2 assist and 1 ace.
Junior Morgan Kealy recorded her 10th double-double of the season and 37th of her career with 52 assists and 15 digs. It's her second career match going above 50 assists, 1 shy of her career high set against Green Bay in 2024.
Senior Allie Kopp led the Tommie defense with 17 digs, 1 shy of her career high set against South Dakota at home last season. Fellow senior Ella Voegele totaled 12 digs.
Junior Ellie Gustafson finished with 14 kills hitting .308 from the floor while she recorded a perfect receiving percentage on 32 attempts. Senior Tezra Rudzitis totaled 12 kills and 2 total blocks while freshman Anya Schmidt had 10 along with 6 digs and 2 total blocks.

QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Thanh Pham's thoughts following the team's third straight home win
"Just looking at the stats, we tried to serve North Dakota extremely tough. When we're able to do that, that could have been the difference. Give credit to UND. They're a tough team. They're coached well and have some really good hitters. Their setter does a nice job. For us, we finally got our composure about us and were able to pull away. We're going to learn a lot from that match."

UP NEXT
St. Thomas looks to continue its perfect start at home Saturday against North Dakota State. The Tommies and Bison face first serve at 12 p.m. as Coach Pham is one win shy of 500 for his career.

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-- St. Thomas Athletics --

Wetter tallies 17 kills, 7 blocks as Tommies outlast Fighting Hawks

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Team Stats

Megan Wetter

Ellie Gustafson

Tezra Rudzitis

Anya Schmidt

Players Mentioned

Emma Goerger

Ellie Gustafson

Morgan Kealy

Allie Kopp

Tezra Rudzitis

Anya Schmidt

Ella Voegele

Megan Wetter

University of St. Thomas Athletics