St. Thomas takes one set from No. 11 Minnesota to close opening weekend

ST. PAUL, MINN. – St. Thomas volleyball pushed No. 11 Minnesota to four sets, falling 3-1 (22-25, 20-25, 25-23, 18-25), on Sunday to close its season-opening weekend. Senior opposite hitter Tezra Rudzitis was named to the Golden Gopher Invitational All-Tournament Team as she tied a career-high 18 kills hitting .263 from the floor.

SCORING SUMMARY
Set One: The Tommies showed grit early, battling back from an 18–12 deficit to climb within two late. Kills from Ellie Gustafson and Tezra Rudzitis sparked the run, and Gustafson delivered back-to-back points to make it 24–22. Minnesota closed on a kill to hold off the rally, 25–22.

Set Two: The second set featured tight play throughout, with neither team leading by more than three points until a set-ending run. St. Thomas used a 4–1 push late, capped by a Gustafson swing, to take a 19–18 lead. Minnesota answered with a 5–0 run to finish the set, 25–20.

Set Three: The Tommies broke through in the third behind balanced attacking and timely defense. Trailing 21–20, UST sided out, then used a block from Gustafson and Megan Wetter to ignite a 3–0 run and push ahead 23–21. Minnesota cut it to 24–23, but Gustafson's kill sealed the 25–23 victory.

Set Four: Minnesota built early momentum with an 18–10 advantage, but St. Thomas responded with energy down the stretch. Rudzitis powered a late run that trimmed the margin to 23–18, recording her career-high-tying 18th kill on the point, before the Gophers closed out the set and match, 25–18.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

Senior Tezra Rudzitis was named to the All-Tournament Team as she ended Sunday with 18 kills, tying a career high, 2 digs and 1 block while hitting .263 from the floor. She began the weekend with 14 kills and 2 blocks against Ball State before adding 11 kills on a .550 hitting percentage against Cal Poly.
Freshman Anya Schmidt recorded her first career double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs. She finished the weekend with 2.8 kills per set after starting her career with 13 against Ball State and 9 against Cal Poly.
Junior Ellie Gustafson joined Rudzitis with her third straight match with double-digit kills, totaling 10 along with 2 digs and 1 block against the Gophers. Gustafson and Rudzitis are the second and third Tommies in the Division I era with three straight double-digit kill matches to begin the season, joining Lauren Galvin in 2023.
St. Thomas entered Sunday's match 0-2 all-time against Minnesota, falling in sweeps during both matches. The set three win was the first for the program against a ranked opponent, previously facing No. 11 Minnesota in 2021 and No. 19 Minnesota in 2024. St. Thomas took one set against (RV) South Dakota State during the two programs' first meeting last season before the Tommies beat the (RV) Jackrabbits, who held a 22-0 record at the time, in five sets on Nov. 7, 2024 in Brookings, S.D.

QUOTEABLES
Head coach Thanh Pham thoughts on Sunday's 3-1 loss at No. 11 Minnesota
"After playing two tough teams, I am proud of how our team stood tall in a tough environment against one of the best programs in the nation. It was a great defensive battle and we certainly had our opportunities but Minnesota had too much fire power. If we can learn to play composed and aggressive we will have a chance at something special. Tezra (Rudzitis) was amazing on the right side and Morgan (Kealy) set a very smart match. Anya (Schmidt) showed she was ready for a big stage. We will get back in the gym and focus on improvement."

UP NEXT
The Tommies hit the road Sept. 5-6 for its first of three non-conference tournaments outside of Minnesota. St. Thomas will play Houston Christian, hosts of the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament in Houston, Texas, and Bethune Cookman on Sept. 5 before closing the tournament against Southern Mississippi on Sept. 6.

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-- St. Thomas Athletics --

St. Thomas takes one set from No. 11 Minnesota to close opening weekend

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Team Stats

Tezra Rudzitis

Anya Schmidt

Ellie Gustafson

Megan Wetter

Players Mentioned

Lauren Galvin

Ellie Gustafson

Tezra Rudzitis

Anya Schmidt

Megan Wetter

University of St. Thomas Athletics