University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, December 5
Minneapolis, Minn.
4:30 p.m. CT
21-10,11-5Summit League
2
vs
3
No. 5 Iowa State
23-7,12-6Big 12
1
2
3
4
5
F
St. Thomas (MN)
25
13
16
25
8
2
Iowa St.
21
25
25
21
15
3
Photo by: kyliemacziewskiphotography.mypixieset.com
2024
Historic season ends Friday in five-set loss to No. 5 seed Iowa State
12/5/2025 7:40:00 PM | Volleyball
St. Thomas closes season with 25-21, 13-25, 16-25, 25-21, 8-15 loss in NCAA Tournament
MINNEAPOLIS – The historic run by St. Thomas volleyball was cut short Friday night during a five-set loss to No. 5 seed Iowa State (25-21, 13-25, 16-25, 25-21, 8-15) to open the NCAA Tournament. The Tommies (21-10, 11-5 Summit) won the Summit League's first NCAA Tournament sets since 2022 as freshman Anya Schmidt led all players with 16 kills and junior Morgan Kealy led all with 43 assists.
SCORING SUMMARY
Set One: St. Thomas opened its first NCAA Tournament appearance with poise, grabbing its first-ever tournament lead on an Iowa State service error and using a balanced 7–2 run to build a 13–10 advantage. The Tommies' offense spread the workload early, with four different players contributing kills during the surge, and extended the margin to 15–11 behind swings from Schmidt and Megan Wetter. Iowa State clawed back within one multiple times, but clutch kills from Ellie Gustafson and Schmidt closed out a 25–21 win. The Tommies were sharp, hitting .355 on 16 kills, while holding the Cyclones to .200.
Set Two: Schmidt and Tezra Rudzitis sparked an early 4–2 lead, but momentum flipped quickly as Iowa State erased an 8–7 Tommie edge with an 11–0 run that broke open the set. The Cyclones were nearly flawless, hitting .552 without an attack error and adding two blocks, while St. Thomas stumbled to .143 with six errors. Schmidt continued her strong night with five more kills, but UST dropped the set as ISU evened the match.
Set Three: Schmidt's 10th kill delivered UST's first point, but another extended Cyclone run—this time seven straight—put St. Thomas in a 10–2 hole. The Tommies showed grit, using back-to-back Schmidt kills and a wave of ISU errors to trim the deficit to 13–10, but Iowa State answered with four straight to regain control. Both teams committed just four attack errors, though ISU's six aces proved decisive in the 2–1 match lead.
Set Four: St. Thomas responded with its most complete frame of the match, opening 3–1 and stretching the lead to 7–3 behind kills from Rudzitis and Wetter and aces from Ella Voegele and Allie Kopp. After ISU briefly surged ahead, the Tommies countered with a 6–1 run highlighted by a Schmotzer-and-Morgan Kealy block to reclaim a 19–15 advantage. UST continued to roll, pushing ahead 22–16 before closing the set with kills from Rudzitis and Gustafson and a match-saving block from Rudzitis and Wetter. The Tommies held ISU to .091 with nine errors while posting .214 with four blocks to force a deciding fifth set.
Set Five: UST struck first in the race to 15, using a Rudzitis kill, a Wetter solo block and a Kopp ace to jump ahead 5–2. Iowa State responded with a crushing seven-point run to take control. Wetter stopped the streak with a kill, but ISU finished on a 6–2 push to end the Tommies' historic postseason run.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
SCORING SUMMARY
Set One: St. Thomas opened its first NCAA Tournament appearance with poise, grabbing its first-ever tournament lead on an Iowa State service error and using a balanced 7–2 run to build a 13–10 advantage. The Tommies' offense spread the workload early, with four different players contributing kills during the surge, and extended the margin to 15–11 behind swings from Schmidt and Megan Wetter. Iowa State clawed back within one multiple times, but clutch kills from Ellie Gustafson and Schmidt closed out a 25–21 win. The Tommies were sharp, hitting .355 on 16 kills, while holding the Cyclones to .200.
Set Two: Schmidt and Tezra Rudzitis sparked an early 4–2 lead, but momentum flipped quickly as Iowa State erased an 8–7 Tommie edge with an 11–0 run that broke open the set. The Cyclones were nearly flawless, hitting .552 without an attack error and adding two blocks, while St. Thomas stumbled to .143 with six errors. Schmidt continued her strong night with five more kills, but UST dropped the set as ISU evened the match.
Set Three: Schmidt's 10th kill delivered UST's first point, but another extended Cyclone run—this time seven straight—put St. Thomas in a 10–2 hole. The Tommies showed grit, using back-to-back Schmidt kills and a wave of ISU errors to trim the deficit to 13–10, but Iowa State answered with four straight to regain control. Both teams committed just four attack errors, though ISU's six aces proved decisive in the 2–1 match lead.
Set Four: St. Thomas responded with its most complete frame of the match, opening 3–1 and stretching the lead to 7–3 behind kills from Rudzitis and Wetter and aces from Ella Voegele and Allie Kopp. After ISU briefly surged ahead, the Tommies countered with a 6–1 run highlighted by a Schmotzer-and-Morgan Kealy block to reclaim a 19–15 advantage. UST continued to roll, pushing ahead 22–16 before closing the set with kills from Rudzitis and Gustafson and a match-saving block from Rudzitis and Wetter. The Tommies held ISU to .091 with nine errors while posting .214 with four blocks to force a deciding fifth set.
Set Five: UST struck first in the race to 15, using a Rudzitis kill, a Wetter solo block and a Kopp ace to jump ahead 5–2. Iowa State responded with a crushing seven-point run to take control. Wetter stopped the streak with a kill, but ISU finished on a 6–2 push to end the Tommies' historic postseason run.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
- St. Thomas claimed the first NCAA Tournament set won by a Summit League team since 2022 and added just the seventh and eighth set wins for the league since 1999.
- UST hit .184 overall while Iowa State hit .266; the Tommies served six aces compared to the Cyclones' 12.
- Anya Schmidt led all players with 16 kills and added six digs, while Megan Wetter posted 12 kills and a match-high five blocks.
- Setter Morgan Kealy paced the attack with 43 assists and contributed nine digs.
- Libero Ella Voegele led the back row with 21 digs, and Allie Kopp followed with 17 and three service aces.
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Thanh Pham following the program's first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and reflecting on the 2025 season:
"Iowa State is a top 25 team for a reason. They posed a lot of problems for us and we thought if we could weather the storm we might have a chance, and we had a chance."
"Those nine seniors put it out there. Our team is special in a lot of ways. In ways that they truly embrace and support each other, through good times and bad. I know losing sucks, and the goal is to win, but the purpose of our team is so much greater. You can see it...when they're all hugging each other and thanking each other for the effort they put in this year. It's just a special group of people and it's hard to put into words what those relationships mean... I know that every member of my team feels loved by another member of the team and that's more than good enough for me."
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' 2026 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Team Stats
UST
IowaSt
Kills
52
62
Errors
23
21
Attempts
158
154
Hitting %
.184
.266
Points
65.0
82.0
Assists
50
60
Aces
6
12
Blocks
7
8
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S/DS
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballMB
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