University of St. Thomas Athletics
Tuesday, November 25
Brookings, S.D.
6:00 p.m. CT
21-9,11-5Summit League
3
vs
1
No. 1 South Dakota State
23-4,16-0Summit League
1
2
3
4
F
St. Thomas (MN)
25
19
25
25
3
South Dakota St.
18
25
21
23
1
Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia
Tommies claim Summit League title with 3-1 win over Jackrabbits
11/25/2025 9:30:00 PM | Volleyball
Kealy named Tournament MVP as St. Thomas wins first league title of Division I era
BROOKINGS, S.D. – St. Thomas volleyball won its first ever Summit League Tournament title with a 3-1 win over No. 1 seed South Dakota State on Tuesday night at the home site of the Jackrabbits. The Tommies (21-9) beat the Jackrabbits 25-18, 19-25, 25-21, 25-23 as Morgan Kealy was named the tournament MVP and Tezra Rudzitis and Anya Schmidt were selected to the All-Tournament Team.
SCORING SUMMARY
Set One: St. Thomas opened the championship match with a commanding 6-1 run, fueled by two early kills from Tezra Rudzitis and a strong presence at the net from Megan Wetter. SDSU chipped the margin down to two on multiple occasions, but timely swings from Wetter and setter Morgan Kealy rebuilt the cushion. After the Jackrabbits closed within 15-13, a kill from Addie Schmotzer and a solo block by Wetter revived UST's momentum. Back-to-back blocks—first from Kealy, then the duo of Rudzitis and Schmotzer—ignited a decisive 6-0 closing push. Rudzitis delivered consecutive kills before Schmotzer buried the final point for a 25-18 win. The Tommies' defense dictated the frame, posting six blocks while holding SDSU to .022 hitting with 10 attack errors.
Set Two: SDSU flipped the script to begin the second, jumping ahead 6-2 behind three kills, two blocks and an ace. The Tommies answered with a 5-1 run to even the set at 7-7, highlighted by kills from Anya Schmidt, Wetter and Ellie Gustafson. The teams traded punches through the midpoint until an 8-0 SDSU run broke the set open. UST responded with four of the next five, but the Jackrabbits' hot offense held firm to even the match. Despite the loss, St. Thomas swung efficiently at .316 behind 16 kills; SDSU countered with a blistering .457 hitting percentage. Rudzitis continued her dominance with five kills for the second straight set.
Set Three: The third set opened with three lead changes before Rudzitis delivered back-to-back kills for a brief edge. After SDSU tied it at 4-4, a kill from Gustafson and an ace from Wetter launched a 5-0 Tommie surge. Another run—this time 4-0 after an SDSU service error—extended the advantage to 15-8 and forced a Jackrabbit timeout. SDSU gradually narrowed the gap to one, 20-19, but St. Thomas answered with kills from Rudzitis and Gustafson to regain control. Rudzitis then took over in championship fashion, hammering three straight kills to close out the set, 25-21, and push UST within one frame of the league title.
Set Four: The final set mirrored the match's intensity, with the teams trading early points before a 3-0 UST burst—paced by a Schmidt kill, a solo block from Wetter and another Wetter kill—made it 5-2. SDSU rallied to tie three more times, but Rudzitis' 19th kill sparked a 3-0 stretch for a 13-10 Tommie lead. Two SDSU service errors kept that margin intact before the Jackrabbits responded with a three-point push to tie it again at 15-15. SDSU momentarily pulled ahead late, but a block assist from Rudzitis and Wetter flipped momentum and began a 4-0 Tommie run to reach match point at 24-21. After SDSU extended the match with two points, Wetter delivered the championship-clinching kill, securing St. Thomas' first Summit League Tournament title.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
SCORING SUMMARY
Set One: St. Thomas opened the championship match with a commanding 6-1 run, fueled by two early kills from Tezra Rudzitis and a strong presence at the net from Megan Wetter. SDSU chipped the margin down to two on multiple occasions, but timely swings from Wetter and setter Morgan Kealy rebuilt the cushion. After the Jackrabbits closed within 15-13, a kill from Addie Schmotzer and a solo block by Wetter revived UST's momentum. Back-to-back blocks—first from Kealy, then the duo of Rudzitis and Schmotzer—ignited a decisive 6-0 closing push. Rudzitis delivered consecutive kills before Schmotzer buried the final point for a 25-18 win. The Tommies' defense dictated the frame, posting six blocks while holding SDSU to .022 hitting with 10 attack errors.
Set Two: SDSU flipped the script to begin the second, jumping ahead 6-2 behind three kills, two blocks and an ace. The Tommies answered with a 5-1 run to even the set at 7-7, highlighted by kills from Anya Schmidt, Wetter and Ellie Gustafson. The teams traded punches through the midpoint until an 8-0 SDSU run broke the set open. UST responded with four of the next five, but the Jackrabbits' hot offense held firm to even the match. Despite the loss, St. Thomas swung efficiently at .316 behind 16 kills; SDSU countered with a blistering .457 hitting percentage. Rudzitis continued her dominance with five kills for the second straight set.
Set Three: The third set opened with three lead changes before Rudzitis delivered back-to-back kills for a brief edge. After SDSU tied it at 4-4, a kill from Gustafson and an ace from Wetter launched a 5-0 Tommie surge. Another run—this time 4-0 after an SDSU service error—extended the advantage to 15-8 and forced a Jackrabbit timeout. SDSU gradually narrowed the gap to one, 20-19, but St. Thomas answered with kills from Rudzitis and Gustafson to regain control. Rudzitis then took over in championship fashion, hammering three straight kills to close out the set, 25-21, and push UST within one frame of the league title.
Set Four: The final set mirrored the match's intensity, with the teams trading early points before a 3-0 UST burst—paced by a Schmidt kill, a solo block from Wetter and another Wetter kill—made it 5-2. SDSU rallied to tie three more times, but Rudzitis' 19th kill sparked a 3-0 stretch for a 13-10 Tommie lead. Two SDSU service errors kept that margin intact before the Jackrabbits responded with a three-point push to tie it again at 15-15. SDSU momentarily pulled ahead late, but a block assist from Rudzitis and Wetter flipped momentum and began a 4-0 Tommie run to reach match point at 24-21. After SDSU extended the match with two points, Wetter delivered the championship-clinching kill, securing St. Thomas' first Summit League Tournament title.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
- St. Thomas claimed its first Summit League Tournament title and became the only league team to defeat South Dakota State in Brookings over the past two seasons, one win coming in each of the last two seasons.
- All-Tournament Honors: MVP: Morgan Kealy, All-Tournament Team: Tezra Rudzitis and Anya Schmidt
- The Tommies hit .269 while holding SDSU to .233, with both teams totaling 11 blocks.
- The junior delivered a championship-level performance with 22 kills on .327 hitting.
- Schmidt tallied 12 kills and 10 digs for her fifth career double-double.
- Wetter posted 11 kills on .321 hitting and a team-best six blocks.
- The tournament MVP recorded 41 assists and 14 digs, marking her 19th double-double of the season.
- Libero Ella Voegele anchored the defense with a match-high 22 digs.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will learn its fate for the NCAA Tournament during the NCAA Division I Selection Show on Sunday at 5 p.m.
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
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-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Team Stats
UST
SDSU
Kills
63
58
Errors
18
21
Attempts
167
159
Hitting %
.269
.233
Points
77.0
71.0
Assists
56
52
Aces
3
2
Blocks
11
11
Game Leaders
Kills
22
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
6
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballMB
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