University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, August 30
Minneapolis, Minn.
2:00 p.m. CT
0-2,0-0Summit League
0
vs
3
Cal Poly
1-1,0-0Big West
1
2
3
F
St. Thomas (MN)
17
22
21
0
Cal Poly
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Collin Boyles
Tommies fall in sweep to Mustangs at Golden Gopher Invitational
8/30/2025 10:05:00 PM | Volleyball
Tezra Rudzitis led St. Thomas with 11 kills on .550 hitting percentage
ST. PAUL, MINN. – Senior right side hitter Tezra Rudzitis put together a career match Saturday as St. Thomas volleyball fell in straight sets to Cal Poly (17-25, 22-25, 21-25). Rudzitis led the Tommies with 11 kills on a .550 hitting percentage during the loss at the Golden Gopher Invitational.
SCORING SUMMARY
Set One: Cal Poly jumped out to a 6-2 lead and never trailed, using its size at the net and balanced scoring from outside hitters to keep the Tommies off balance. St. Thomas pieced together a brief run with kills from Megan Wetter and Anya Schmidt to close within 9-7, but Cal Poly quickly rebuilt its cushion with a 7-1 run and hit .462 through the set to pull ahead 1-0.
Set Two: The Tommies settled in and matched Cal Poly point-for-point through the early stages, with Ellie Gustafson finding rhythm offensively. A 6-1 Cal Poly run pushed the lead to six, 10-4, before a CP service error sparked a quick 4-0 run for the Tommies. Following a kill by Schmidt to pull St. Thomas within one, 17-16, a Cal Poly timeout allowed the Mustangs to regroup and hold the lead.
Set Three: St. Thomas came out swinging, leading 8-4 after three straight kills from Schmidt. Cal Poly answered with a 5–1 run fueled by its middle attack, tying the score at 9-9. Despite the Tommies taking the lead right back, the Mustangs used a 7-1 run to pull away through the middle of the set. The Purple pieced a late run to get back within two, 23-21, but a service error and ace allowed Cal Poly to secure the sweep.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
· Senior Tezra Rudzitis hit .550 (11-20) from the floor for her third highest hitting percentage in a match (minimum 15 total attacks). She led the Tommies with 11 kills Saturday after hitting 14 during the season opener.
· Junior Ellie Gustafson finished with double-digit kills for the second straight match to open the season, notching 10 kills on 32 attacks.
· Over the prior four seasons, St. Thomas had seen two players record multiple double-digit kills over the first two matches of the season. Gustafson and Lauren Galvin both started 2023 with 10+ kills in the first two matches of the season.
· Freshman Anya Schmidt was one kill shy of her second straight double-digit match while she hit .250 from the floor.
· Senior Ella Voegele totaled 13 digs to lead the team followed by senior Keya Luta Win Hunt with 10.
QUOTEABLES
Head coach Thanh Pham thoughts on Saturday's loss against Cal Poly
"We learned a lot today from our match and will have to process quick as we have a ranked opponent on Sunday. It's ben a great challenge for our team to play in this high-quality tournament. We had a few chances against Cal Poly but couldn't capitalize as their size and aggressive play caused lots of disruption. The margins get very thin playing against these great teams."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas closes the Golden Gopher Invitational at 3 p.m. Sunday against the host of No. 11 Minnesota at Maturi Pavilion.
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 --
SCORING SUMMARY
Set One: Cal Poly jumped out to a 6-2 lead and never trailed, using its size at the net and balanced scoring from outside hitters to keep the Tommies off balance. St. Thomas pieced together a brief run with kills from Megan Wetter and Anya Schmidt to close within 9-7, but Cal Poly quickly rebuilt its cushion with a 7-1 run and hit .462 through the set to pull ahead 1-0.
Set Two: The Tommies settled in and matched Cal Poly point-for-point through the early stages, with Ellie Gustafson finding rhythm offensively. A 6-1 Cal Poly run pushed the lead to six, 10-4, before a CP service error sparked a quick 4-0 run for the Tommies. Following a kill by Schmidt to pull St. Thomas within one, 17-16, a Cal Poly timeout allowed the Mustangs to regroup and hold the lead.
Set Three: St. Thomas came out swinging, leading 8-4 after three straight kills from Schmidt. Cal Poly answered with a 5–1 run fueled by its middle attack, tying the score at 9-9. Despite the Tommies taking the lead right back, the Mustangs used a 7-1 run to pull away through the middle of the set. The Purple pieced a late run to get back within two, 23-21, but a service error and ace allowed Cal Poly to secure the sweep.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
· Senior Tezra Rudzitis hit .550 (11-20) from the floor for her third highest hitting percentage in a match (minimum 15 total attacks). She led the Tommies with 11 kills Saturday after hitting 14 during the season opener.
· Junior Ellie Gustafson finished with double-digit kills for the second straight match to open the season, notching 10 kills on 32 attacks.
· Over the prior four seasons, St. Thomas had seen two players record multiple double-digit kills over the first two matches of the season. Gustafson and Lauren Galvin both started 2023 with 10+ kills in the first two matches of the season.
· Freshman Anya Schmidt was one kill shy of her second straight double-digit match while she hit .250 from the floor.
· Senior Ella Voegele totaled 13 digs to lead the team followed by senior Keya Luta Win Hunt with 10.
QUOTEABLES
Head coach Thanh Pham thoughts on Saturday's loss against Cal Poly
"We learned a lot today from our match and will have to process quick as we have a ranked opponent on Sunday. It's ben a great challenge for our team to play in this high-quality tournament. We had a few chances against Cal Poly but couldn't capitalize as their size and aggressive play caused lots of disruption. The margins get very thin playing against these great teams."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas closes the Golden Gopher Invitational at 3 p.m. Sunday against the host of No. 11 Minnesota at Maturi Pavilion.
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
CPO
Kills
38
39
Errors
18
8
Attempts
113
100
Hitting %
.177
.310
Points
43.0
53.0
Assists
37
37
Aces
4
7
Blocks
1
7
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
MB
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