University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, September 6
Houston, Texas
11:00 a.m. CT
3-3,0-0Summit League
3
vs
0
Southern Mississippi
4-2,0-0Sun Belt
1
2
3
F
St. Thomas (MN)
25
26
26
3
Southern Miss.
18
24
24
0
Photo by: Collin Boyles
Volleyball secures tournament title with sweep over Southern Miss
9/6/2025 2:05:00 PM | Volleyball
Ellie Gustafson named Tournament MVP after 10 kills, 7 digs against the Golden Eagles
HOUSTON – St. Thomas volleyball made back-to-back late-set comebacks in extra points to secure a sweep over Southern Mississippi (25-18, 26-24, 26-24) and the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament title in Houston. Junior Ellie Gustfson was named the tournament MVP while senior Megan Wetter and junior Morgan Kealy were named to the all-tournament team.
SCORING SUMMARY
Set One: Neither side led by more than three points until Tezra Rudzitis and Addie Schmotzer combined for a block to spark a 7–1 Tommie run. Megan Wetter powered the surge with two kills as St. Thomas built a 20–12 lead and carried that momentum to a 25–18 opening set win.
Set Two: Southern Miss held a 22–18 advantage before the Tommies rallied behind an 8–2 closing stretch. Gustafson ignited the comeback with a kill and later added a service ace, while Anya Schmidt came through with a key kill at set point. Wetter sealed the frame with a service ace, giving St. Thomas the 2–0 lead.
Set Three: The Golden Eagles built leads of 16–11 and 18–14, but the Tommies came through with another late comeback. A kill from Schmotzer trimmed the margin to 20–18, starting a 4–1 run that pulled the set even at 21–21. Southern Miss reached set point at 24–23, but Gustafson delivered a kill and Allie Kopp followed with back-to-back service aces to clinch the sweep, 26–24.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
· St. Thomas hit .252 and limited Southern Mississippi to .208 while the Tommies totaled seven service aces compared to three for the Golden Eagles.
· After going 7-29 through the program's first 13 non-conference tournaments of the Division I era, the Tommies have now gone 11-3 through the previous five tournaments dating back to Sept. 5, 2024.
· Junior Ellie Gustafson was named the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament MVP after totaling 11.0 points, 10 kills, 7 digs, and 1 service ace during the final match against Southern Mississippi. Over the tournament, she led the Tommies with 3.80 kills per set and 38 total kills and recorded a .337 attack percentage. Gustafson recorded double-doubles in each of the first two matches and finished with 3.10 digs per set, in addition to 4.00 points per set and a perfect reception percentage on 63 attempts.
· Gustafson has recorded double-digit kills in all six matches to start the season, becoming the first Tommie to do so since Taylor Lewis began the 2016 season with 11 straight double-digit kill matches.
· Junior Morgan Kealy and senior Megan Wetter were both selected to the All-Tournament Team. Through the tournament, Wetter averaged 3.20 kills per set after beginning the first two matches with a combined 27 kills, 10 against Houston Christian and a career high 17 against Bethune-Cookman. Kealy averaged 10.40 assists per set and recorded double-doubles in each of the first two matches of the weekend. She opened with 27 assists and 11 digs against Houston Christian before 46 assists and 10 digs against Bethune-Cookman and closed the weekend with 31 assists and 9 digs against Southern Mississippi.
· Freshman Anya Schmidt led the Tommies with 14.0 points and 13 kills on a .276 attack percentage against the Golden Eagles, adding 4 digs and a perfect receiving percentage on 17 receptions. Senior Tezra Rudzitis finished with 10 kills on a team-best .348 attack percentage to go along with 4 digs and 1 block assist.
QUOTEABLES
Head coach Thanh Pham thoughts following the sweep of Southern Mississippi to secure the tournament title
"What a great match to end the weekend on! The Tommies showed lots of grit fighting back in the last two sets. I was extremely pleased to see how engaged and how hard we fought. Morgan did a great job setting and made the all-tournament team along with Megan Wetter and tournament MVP Ellie Gustafson. Southern Mississippi is a well-coached and disciplined team. In the end, our serving and defense lead the way back."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas hits the road against Sept. 12-13 for the Bryant Invitational in Smithfield, R.I., hosted by Bryant. The Purple begin the tournament Friday at 9 a.m. CT against Army before facing Bryant at 5 p.m. CT. St. Thomas finishes the tournament Saturday at 9 a.m. against Stony Brook.
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: Neither side led by more than three points until Tezra Rudzitis and Addie Schmotzer combined for a block to spark a 7–1 Tommie run. Megan Wetter powered the surge with two kills as St. Thomas built a 20–12 lead and carried that momentum to a 25–18 opening set win.
Set Two: Southern Miss held a 22–18 advantage before the Tommies rallied behind an 8–2 closing stretch. Gustafson ignited the comeback with a kill and later added a service ace, while Anya Schmidt came through with a key kill at set point. Wetter sealed the frame with a service ace, giving St. Thomas the 2–0 lead.
Set Three: The Golden Eagles built leads of 16–11 and 18–14, but the Tommies came through with another late comeback. A kill from Schmotzer trimmed the margin to 20–18, starting a 4–1 run that pulled the set even at 21–21. Southern Miss reached set point at 24–23, but Gustafson delivered a kill and Allie Kopp followed with back-to-back service aces to clinch the sweep, 26–24.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
· St. Thomas hit .252 and limited Southern Mississippi to .208 while the Tommies totaled seven service aces compared to three for the Golden Eagles.
· After going 7-29 through the program's first 13 non-conference tournaments of the Division I era, the Tommies have now gone 11-3 through the previous five tournaments dating back to Sept. 5, 2024.
· Junior Ellie Gustafson was named the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament MVP after totaling 11.0 points, 10 kills, 7 digs, and 1 service ace during the final match against Southern Mississippi. Over the tournament, she led the Tommies with 3.80 kills per set and 38 total kills and recorded a .337 attack percentage. Gustafson recorded double-doubles in each of the first two matches and finished with 3.10 digs per set, in addition to 4.00 points per set and a perfect reception percentage on 63 attempts.
· Gustafson has recorded double-digit kills in all six matches to start the season, becoming the first Tommie to do so since Taylor Lewis began the 2016 season with 11 straight double-digit kill matches.
· Junior Morgan Kealy and senior Megan Wetter were both selected to the All-Tournament Team. Through the tournament, Wetter averaged 3.20 kills per set after beginning the first two matches with a combined 27 kills, 10 against Houston Christian and a career high 17 against Bethune-Cookman. Kealy averaged 10.40 assists per set and recorded double-doubles in each of the first two matches of the weekend. She opened with 27 assists and 11 digs against Houston Christian before 46 assists and 10 digs against Bethune-Cookman and closed the weekend with 31 assists and 9 digs against Southern Mississippi.
· Freshman Anya Schmidt led the Tommies with 14.0 points and 13 kills on a .276 attack percentage against the Golden Eagles, adding 4 digs and a perfect receiving percentage on 17 receptions. Senior Tezra Rudzitis finished with 10 kills on a team-best .348 attack percentage to go along with 4 digs and 1 block assist.
QUOTEABLES
Head coach Thanh Pham thoughts following the sweep of Southern Mississippi to secure the tournament title
"What a great match to end the weekend on! The Tommies showed lots of grit fighting back in the last two sets. I was extremely pleased to see how engaged and how hard we fought. Morgan did a great job setting and made the all-tournament team along with Megan Wetter and tournament MVP Ellie Gustafson. Southern Mississippi is a well-coached and disciplined team. In the end, our serving and defense lead the way back."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas hits the road against Sept. 12-13 for the Bryant Invitational in Smithfield, R.I., hosted by Bryant. The Purple begin the tournament Friday at 9 a.m. CT against Army before facing Bryant at 5 p.m. CT. St. Thomas finishes the tournament Saturday at 9 a.m. against Stony Brook.
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
USM
Kills
45
42
Errors
14
16
Attempts
123
125
Hitting %
.252
.208
Points
57.0
49.0
Assists
39
35
Aces
7
3
Blocks
5
4
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S/DS
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballMB
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