University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, October 23
Omaha, Neb.
7:00 p.m. CT
14-6,7-2Summit League
3
at
0
Omaha
6-12,3-6Summit League
1
2
3
F
St. Thomas (MN)
25
25
25
3
Omaha
18
18
18
0
Tommies sweep Mavericks, set Division I hitting record
10/23/2025 9:07:00 PM | Volleyball
St. Thomas hit .429 in first-ever season sweep of Omaha behind 30 combined kills from Gustafson and Rudzitis
OMAHA, Neb. -- St. Thomas continued its red-hot stretch Thursday night in Omaha, hitting a Division I era record .429 to sweep the Mavericks (25-18, 25-18, 25-18). The Tommies never trailed in any set, rolling to their fourth straight win and first-ever season sweep over Omaha. Ellie Gustafson and Tezra Rudzitis led the balanced attack with 15 kills each, while the victory moved St. Thomas to 14-6 overall and 7-2 in Summit League play.
SCORING SUMMARY
Set One: St. Thomas controlled the opener from the first serve, starting with three straight kills, one from Anya Schmidt and two from Tezra Rudzitis. The Tommies broke away with an 11-2 run to lead 17-6 behind four kills from Gustafson and two apiece from Rudzitis and Addie Schmotzer. Omaha pulled within five late, but Rudzitis closed the frame with her fourth kill as the Tommies hit .486 with 20 kills to take the opener 25-18.
Set Two: The Tommies again set the tone early with a block assist from Schmidt and Schmotzer and never trailed in the set. Megan Wetter delivered two kills in a 4-0 burst to push the lead to 6-2, and St. Thomas later used a 4-1 run to extend the margin to 15-10. The Tommies finished strong with four straight points, including kills from Rudzitis, Schmidt, and Wetter, and a block assist by Schmidt and Wetter, to take another 25-18 victory while hitting .359 in the frame.
Set Three: For the third straight set, St. Thomas led wire-to-wire, jumping out 5-2 on kills from four different Tommies and a Maverick attack error. After Omaha closed within one, the Tommies answered with a 9-2 run that included kills from five different hitters and two Morgan Kealy service aces. Rudzitis led the charge with six of St. Thomas' 21 kills in the frame as the Tommies sealed the sweep, limiting Omaha to a .235 attack percentage.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
- St. Thomas' .429 attack percentage marks a Division I era single-match record, surpassing .400 for the second time this season. Entering the season, the Tommies had topped .350 in a match one time and have now done it four times in 2025. Every Tommie to record a kill hit at least .308 from the floor.
- After securing the program's first ever win over Omaha earlier this season, St. Thomas has now secured its first season sweep over the program and its second match sweep of the Summit League season.
- Senior Tezra Rudzitis and junior Ellie Gustafson led with 15 kills each. Rudzitis hit .636 and added a block assist while Gustafson hit .429 with seven digs.
- Freshman Anya Schmidt added 10 kills on .381 hitting along with six digs and two block assists.
- Junior Morgan Kealy paced the offense with 39 assists, nine digs and three aces, while seniors Allie Kopp and Ella Voegele added eight digs apiece.
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Thanh Pham's thoughts following the efficient night that led to the sweep over Omaha:
"Tonight's win moves us one step closer to our season goals. Omaha has a lot of size, and we were able to find ways to score. Fifty-seven kills and hitting over .400 was an efficient way to end a tough road trip."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas takes the weekend off before returning to action at home Thursday, Oct. 30 against South Dakota. The Tommies will look to even the season series against the Coyotes with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. at Schoenecker Arena.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Volleyball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram at @tommievball. Tommie Athletics is now available on TikTok at @TommieSports.
JOIN US
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2025 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Team Stats
UST
OMA
Kills
57
29
Errors
9
9
Attempts
112
94
Hitting %
.429
.213
Points
64.0
40.5
Assists
53
28
Aces
4
4
Blocks
3
7.5
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S/DS
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballSt. Thomas Volleyball 2023 Intro Video
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St. Thomas Volleyball 2022 Intro Video
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Volleyball vs. South Dakota
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