Rudzitis’ career day leads Tommies to season-best hitting in sweep at UMKC

KANSAS CITY - Behind a career-best outing from sophomore Tezra Rudzitis and one of its most efficient offensive performances of the Division I era, St. Thomas rolled to a straight-set sweep over Kansas City (25-17, 25-16, 25-18) on Saturday. The Tommies hit a season-high .450 while Rudzitis led all players with 19 kills on a .720 percentage, guiding the Purple to fifth win in the last six matches.

SCORING SUMMARY
Set One: The opening frame saw eight straight sideouts before St. Thomas broke free with an 8-1 run behind four kills from Rudzitis and two from Ellie Gustafson to take a 13-7 lead. The Tommies extended their advantage to a set-high 10 points at 22-12 after kills by Rudzitis and Addie Schmotzer and back-to-back aces from Gustafson. The teams traded the final six points as the Tommies closed out the set 25-17. Rudzitis led with eight kills, while Morgan Kealy tallied 16 assists as St. Thomas hit .485 with 19 kills and four aces.

Set Two: Both teams traded points early before St. Thomas used an 8-2 run to take control at 16-10. The Tommies continued to dominate offensively, pushing their lead to eight at 23-15 before an ace from Kealy and a Schmotzer kill sealed the set win. St. Thomas hit over .400 for the second straight frame, finishing with 17 kills to just two errors and four aces in a 25-16 victory.

Set Three: The Tommies maintained their rhythm in the final frame, opening with a 4-1 lead on three early kills and an Allie Kopp ace. A string of UMKC attack errors, paired with two Rudzitis kills and one from Gustafson, fueled a 7-0 run to make it 21-11. Rudzitis delivered St. Thomas' final four kills, including her career-high 19th, before combining with Emma Goerger and Kaitlynn Peterson on a block to clinch the sweep.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

Tezra Rudzitis set a career high with 19 kills, hitting an exceptional .720 with just one error and adding a block assist for 19.5 total points.
Addie Schmotzer tied her career high with 10 kills on .529 hitting, following Rudzitis for the team lead.
Morgan Kealy recorded her 40th career double-double and 13th of the season with 38 assists and 10 digs.
Ella Voegele led the defense with 13 digs, her team-leading 13th match this season pacing the category.
Ellie Gustafson and Anya Schmidt each totaled eight kills, combining for just one error. Gustafson added nine digs and two aces, while Schmidt tallied six digs and one ace.
St. Thomas hit a season-best .450, marking its third match above .400 this season after topping .350 just once from 2021–24.

QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Thanh Pham's thoughts following the bounce-back win at Kansas City:
"Both teams attacked the ball well and the difference came in our aggressive serving. Addie Schmotzer gave us a great performance and really attacked well. Tezra set the tone with some powerful swings. Overall, it was a good bounce-back performance."

UP NEXT
St. Thomas returns home for two matches Nov. 6 and 8, first hosting Denver on Thursday before welcoming in Summit League-leading South Dakota State on Saturday 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.

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-- St. Thomas Athletics --

Rudzitis’ career day leads Tommies to season-best hitting in sweep at UMKC

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Team Stats

Tezra Rudzitis

Addie Schmotzer

Ellie Gustafson

Anya Schmidt

Players Mentioned

Emma Goerger

Ellie Gustafson

Morgan Kealy

Allie Kopp

Kaitlynn Peterson

Tezra Rudzitis

Anya Schmidt

Addie Schmotzer

Ella Voegele

University of St. Thomas Athletics