University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, September 3
St. Paul, Minn.
3:00 p.m. CT
1-2,0-0Summit League
3
vs
1
Montana State
3-1,0-0Big Sky
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana St. | 25 | 27 | 18 | 15 | 1 |
| St. Thomas (MN) | 27 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Addie Schmotzer readies to serve to Montana State on Thursday, Sept. 3 at Schoenecker Arena.
Photo by: COPYRIGHT 2026
kasonzetah.com
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Record crowd witnesses 3-1 Tommie Volleyball win to open home schedule
9/3/2026 6:39:00 PM | Volleyball
Schmotzer’s career day leads St. Thomas over Montana State in front of 1,254
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The University of St. Thomas volleyball's home opener was picture perfect as a program-record crowd of 1,254 filled Schoenecker Arena to cheer on the Tommies' 3-1 win (27-25, 25-27, 25-18, 25-15) over Montana State to begin the Tommie Invitational Volleyball Tournament.
A career day from senior Addie Schmotzer led the Tommie offense to 56 total kills, while the unit also added 11 service aces, and her career-high 8 blocks helped limit the Bobcats to .135 hitting.
TOP TOMMIES
Addie Schmotzer
- Maintained a hitting percentage of at least 0.417 for two consecutive matches.
- Set or tied career highs of 17.5 points, 12 kills and eight blocks, all previously set during the season opener versus Texas Tech.
Anya Schmidt
- Recorded season highs of 17.5 points and 13 kills, and tacked on 11 digs for her sixth career double-double.
- Achieved a career-high four blocks.
Audrey Kocon
- Tied a career high five service aces, which she's accomplished four times.
Ellie Gustafson
- Achieved a season-high 15 kills, three shy of her career high set in 2023.
- Recorded a season-high hitting percentage of 0.355.
Emory Brosnahan
- Maintained a hitting percentage of at least 0.333 over two consecutive matches.
Morgan Kealy
- Recorded a season-high 45 assists and is now 38 shy of 3,000 in her career, while also 97 digs away from 1,000 in her career.
Reilly Kurth
- Achieved a hitting percentage of at least 0.455 in two consecutive matches and set a career high seven kills.
HOW IT HAPPENED
St. Thomas turned the opening set after falling behind 13-11, using Kocon's service ace and a Schmidt block during a push to move in front 17-14. Montana State later evened the set at 24-24 and 25-25, but Gustafson's kill put St. Thomas back ahead. A Montana State attack error closed out a 27-25 set win for St. Thomas.
St. Thomas had a late chance after Gustafson's kill put it ahead 24-23, but Montana State answered and closed the second set 27-25. Earlier, Kira Brundage's serving helped St. Thomas turn a 20-17 deficit into a 21-20 lead, with Schmotzer involved in blocks on two of those points. Gustafson added another point at 25-25 before Montana State scored the final two.
St. Thomas turned a 6-5 deficit into a 10-7 lead in the third set, with Schmidt recording two kills and an ace during the stretch. After Montana State tied it at 16-16, St. Thomas answered with kills from Brosnahan and Schmotzer around a Kocon ace to move ahead 20-16. Kealy assisted the final two kills, including Kurth's set-ending point, as St. Thomas took the set 25-18.
St. Thomas turned a 10-6 lead into a 17-7 advantage by winning seven of eight rallies in the fourth set, with Schmidt, Gustafson and Kurth contributing points during the stretch. Kocon added back-to-back service aces to push the lead to 20-9. St. Thomas finished the set at 25-15 on Schmidt kill from Kealy.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Thanh Pham: "We're glad that we could treat the fans that came out in record numbers to such a great match. We were very proud of the way our team was able to hang in there, especially after the first two close sets, and then really show our poise and skill in the last two. Montana State's a great team. We played them three of the last five years that we've been Division I and again they prove where we want to go in terms of a program. I'm super happy with the result and the progress that we're making."
UP NEXT
Up next, the St. Thomas volleyball team hosts UIC, who fell in three sets to Milwaukee on Thursday, at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on Tommie 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 --
A career day from senior Addie Schmotzer led the Tommie offense to 56 total kills, while the unit also added 11 service aces, and her career-high 8 blocks helped limit the Bobcats to .135 hitting.
TOP TOMMIES
Addie Schmotzer
- Maintained a hitting percentage of at least 0.417 for two consecutive matches.
- Set or tied career highs of 17.5 points, 12 kills and eight blocks, all previously set during the season opener versus Texas Tech.
Anya Schmidt
- Recorded season highs of 17.5 points and 13 kills, and tacked on 11 digs for her sixth career double-double.
- Achieved a career-high four blocks.
Audrey Kocon
- Tied a career high five service aces, which she's accomplished four times.
Ellie Gustafson
- Achieved a season-high 15 kills, three shy of her career high set in 2023.
- Recorded a season-high hitting percentage of 0.355.
Emory Brosnahan
- Maintained a hitting percentage of at least 0.333 over two consecutive matches.
Morgan Kealy
- Recorded a season-high 45 assists and is now 38 shy of 3,000 in her career, while also 97 digs away from 1,000 in her career.
Reilly Kurth
- Achieved a hitting percentage of at least 0.455 in two consecutive matches and set a career high seven kills.
HOW IT HAPPENED
St. Thomas turned the opening set after falling behind 13-11, using Kocon's service ace and a Schmidt block during a push to move in front 17-14. Montana State later evened the set at 24-24 and 25-25, but Gustafson's kill put St. Thomas back ahead. A Montana State attack error closed out a 27-25 set win for St. Thomas.
St. Thomas had a late chance after Gustafson's kill put it ahead 24-23, but Montana State answered and closed the second set 27-25. Earlier, Kira Brundage's serving helped St. Thomas turn a 20-17 deficit into a 21-20 lead, with Schmotzer involved in blocks on two of those points. Gustafson added another point at 25-25 before Montana State scored the final two.
St. Thomas turned a 6-5 deficit into a 10-7 lead in the third set, with Schmidt recording two kills and an ace during the stretch. After Montana State tied it at 16-16, St. Thomas answered with kills from Brosnahan and Schmotzer around a Kocon ace to move ahead 20-16. Kealy assisted the final two kills, including Kurth's set-ending point, as St. Thomas took the set 25-18.
St. Thomas turned a 10-6 lead into a 17-7 advantage by winning seven of eight rallies in the fourth set, with Schmidt, Gustafson and Kurth contributing points during the stretch. Kocon added back-to-back service aces to push the lead to 20-9. St. Thomas finished the set at 25-15 on Schmidt kill from Kealy.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Thanh Pham: "We're glad that we could treat the fans that came out in record numbers to such a great match. We were very proud of the way our team was able to hang in there, especially after the first two close sets, and then really show our poise and skill in the last two. Montana State's a great team. We played them three of the last five years that we've been Division I and again they prove where we want to go in terms of a program. I'm super happy with the result and the progress that we're making."
UP NEXT
Up next, the St. Thomas volleyball team hosts UIC, who fell in three sets to Milwaukee on Thursday, at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on Tommie 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 --
Players Mentioned
RS
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
RS/S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballTeam Stats
MSU
UST
Kills
43
56
Errors
25
22
Attempts
133
135
Hitting %
.135
.252
Points
56.0
77.0
Assists
38
52
Aces
4
11
Blocks
9
10
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
13
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
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