University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, October 9
Vermillion, S.D.
7:00 p.m. Central
10-5,3-1Summit League
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at
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South Dakota
10-6,2-2Summit League
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2
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F
St. Thomas (MN)
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25
21
19
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South Dakota
25
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25
3
Photo by: kyliemacziewskiphotography.mypixieset.com
2024
Volleyball’s first league loss comes at South Dakota, 3-1
10/9/2025 9:26:00 PM | Volleyball
Tommies (10-5, 3-1 Summit League) back on the road Saturday at South Dakota State
VERMILLION, S.D. - St. Thomas saw its three-match Summit League winning streak come to an end Thursday night with a 3-1 loss (22-25, 25-18, 21-25, 19-25) to South Dakota in Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The Tommies battled throughout, taking the second set behind an efficient .379 hitting performance before the Coyotes pulled away in the final two frames.
Megan Wetter led the way with 13 kills on .300 hitting and three blocks, while Anya Schmidt added 10 kills and Morgan Kealy totaled 34 assists and three blocks to pace the Tommies.
SCORING SUMMARY
Set One: A strong defensive start helped the Tommies jump ahead 3-0 for their largest lead of the set, but South Dakota answered with a 7-1 run to take control at 17-13. Morgan Kealy sparked the Tommies' response with three straight points, a kill followed by back-to-back service aces, to pull within one. Tezra Rudzitis added consecutive kills to tie the frame at 19-19, though a 4-0 Coyote surge gave USD the edge. St. Thomas fought off two set points behind a block assist from Megan Wetter and Kealy before South Dakota closed it out with a kill. The Tommies hit .094 in the opening frame, while the Coyotes hit .244 with four aces and three blocks.
Set Two: The Tommies found their rhythm in the second frame, using an 11-4 mid-set run to pull ahead 16-11 behind two kills apiece from Rudzitis and Wetter. South Dakota struggled to find consistency from the service line, committing four errors after already totaling five in the first set. Ellie Gustafson extended the lead to 22-16 with back-to-back kills before Wetter sealed the set with two straight finishes, part of her six kills in the frame. St. Thomas hit an efficient .379 with just two errors, while holding the Coyotes to .158 hitting and six errors.
Set Three: Neither team gained more than a two-point edge early until South Dakota used a 4-1 run to pull ahead 11-7. The Tommies responded with a 5-1 surge behind two kills from Anya Schmidt and a block assist from Kealy and Addie Schmotzer to close the gap to 17-16. The Coyotes countered with a 4-1 run of their own to regain control and held on to take the frame. St. Thomas hit .094 for the second time in the match, committing a set-high seven attack and five service errors, while South Dakota posted a match-best .312 hitting percentage.
Set Four: South Dakota set the tone early with a 4-0 start and led wire-to-wire in the final frame. The Coyotes extended their advantage to a match-high 10 points at 21-11 before the Tommies made a late push, fighting off match point with four straight points to close the gap. A USD block assist ended the rally and sealed the match victory for the Coyotes.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
· St. Thomas' three-match winning streak to start league play ended after hitting .188 from the floor, its fifth lowest of the season, compared to .267 for South Dakota.
· Megan Wetter led the Tommies with 13 kills, her ninth match of the season with 10+ kills and with a .300+ attack percentage. Wetter finished with three blocks, tying Morgan Kealy and Tezra Rudzitis for the team lead, for a team-best 16.5 points.
· Allie Kopp and Ella Voegele tied for the team lead with 14 digs each, Voegele leading in the category for the eighth match this season while Kopp led for the second time. It was Voegele's 13th match of the season with at least 10 digs and Kopp's fifth such match.
· Anya Schmidt ended the match with 10 kills while Rudzitis and Ellie Gustafson both totaled 8. Gustafson hit .350 from the floor and finished with 11 digs on the defensive end.
· Morgan Kealy directed the offense with 34 assists, her 12th match of the season with at least 30, and added 8 digs, 4 kills and 3 blocks.
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Thanh Pham's thoughts following the team's first loss of the Summit League schedule
"South Dakota did an outstanding job mixing their attacks tonight. We were never able to get comfortable, and they did a great job taking advantage. There will be positive lessons we can take from this and help prepare us for a tough Summit League."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas rounds out its three-match road trip on Saturday with a 7 p.m. match at South Dakota State.
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 --
Megan Wetter led the way with 13 kills on .300 hitting and three blocks, while Anya Schmidt added 10 kills and Morgan Kealy totaled 34 assists and three blocks to pace the Tommies.
SCORING SUMMARY
Set One: A strong defensive start helped the Tommies jump ahead 3-0 for their largest lead of the set, but South Dakota answered with a 7-1 run to take control at 17-13. Morgan Kealy sparked the Tommies' response with three straight points, a kill followed by back-to-back service aces, to pull within one. Tezra Rudzitis added consecutive kills to tie the frame at 19-19, though a 4-0 Coyote surge gave USD the edge. St. Thomas fought off two set points behind a block assist from Megan Wetter and Kealy before South Dakota closed it out with a kill. The Tommies hit .094 in the opening frame, while the Coyotes hit .244 with four aces and three blocks.
Set Two: The Tommies found their rhythm in the second frame, using an 11-4 mid-set run to pull ahead 16-11 behind two kills apiece from Rudzitis and Wetter. South Dakota struggled to find consistency from the service line, committing four errors after already totaling five in the first set. Ellie Gustafson extended the lead to 22-16 with back-to-back kills before Wetter sealed the set with two straight finishes, part of her six kills in the frame. St. Thomas hit an efficient .379 with just two errors, while holding the Coyotes to .158 hitting and six errors.
Set Three: Neither team gained more than a two-point edge early until South Dakota used a 4-1 run to pull ahead 11-7. The Tommies responded with a 5-1 surge behind two kills from Anya Schmidt and a block assist from Kealy and Addie Schmotzer to close the gap to 17-16. The Coyotes countered with a 4-1 run of their own to regain control and held on to take the frame. St. Thomas hit .094 for the second time in the match, committing a set-high seven attack and five service errors, while South Dakota posted a match-best .312 hitting percentage.
Set Four: South Dakota set the tone early with a 4-0 start and led wire-to-wire in the final frame. The Coyotes extended their advantage to a match-high 10 points at 21-11 before the Tommies made a late push, fighting off match point with four straight points to close the gap. A USD block assist ended the rally and sealed the match victory for the Coyotes.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
· St. Thomas' three-match winning streak to start league play ended after hitting .188 from the floor, its fifth lowest of the season, compared to .267 for South Dakota.
· Megan Wetter led the Tommies with 13 kills, her ninth match of the season with 10+ kills and with a .300+ attack percentage. Wetter finished with three blocks, tying Morgan Kealy and Tezra Rudzitis for the team lead, for a team-best 16.5 points.
· Allie Kopp and Ella Voegele tied for the team lead with 14 digs each, Voegele leading in the category for the eighth match this season while Kopp led for the second time. It was Voegele's 13th match of the season with at least 10 digs and Kopp's fifth such match.
· Anya Schmidt ended the match with 10 kills while Rudzitis and Ellie Gustafson both totaled 8. Gustafson hit .350 from the floor and finished with 11 digs on the defensive end.
· Morgan Kealy directed the offense with 34 assists, her 12th match of the season with at least 30, and added 8 digs, 4 kills and 3 blocks.
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Thanh Pham's thoughts following the team's first loss of the Summit League schedule
"South Dakota did an outstanding job mixing their attacks tonight. We were never able to get comfortable, and they did a great job taking advantage. There will be positive lessons we can take from this and help prepare us for a tough Summit League."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas rounds out its three-match road trip on Saturday with a 7 p.m. match at South Dakota State.
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
SD
Kills
44
57
Errors
21
18
Attempts
125
146
Hitting %
.184
.267
Points
57.0
73.0
Assists
43
55
Aces
6
6
Blocks
7
10
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
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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