Volleyball ready for 2024 opener against Southern Indiana, Bradley and DePaul - The University of St. Thomas (2024)

St. Thomas begins 28-match season at CEFCU Invitational in Peoria, Ill.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The St. Thomas volleyball program opens the 2024 season with a trio of matches Aug. 30-31 at the CEFCU Invitational at Renaissance Coliseum in Peoria, Ill. The Tommies open the tournament and season against Southern Indiana on Friday at 10 a.m. before facing the host Bradley at 6:30 p.m. the same day. The Purple finish the weekend against DePaul on Saturday at 1 p.m.

All three matches will feature Live Stats HERE while only the match against Bradley will be streamed live HERE.

Welcome to 2024
Head Coach Thanh Pham leads Tommie Volleyball into action for the 22nd season overall and fourth in NCAA Division I play. Joining Pham on the sidelines is assistant coach Joy Tietz in her fourth season (14th overall at St. Thomas), assistant coach Kevin Rivas in his third season, and assistant coach Justin Tuohy in his first season. St. Thomas comes off a 7-20 campaign in 2023, including a 3-13 mark in the Summit League. Both win totals marked the most by the program since joining the DI ranks.

The Purple bring back 18 student-athletes from a season ago and introduce one newcomer in true freshman outside hitter Maddy Benka. Besides Benka and redshirt freshman middle blocker Addie Schmotzer, all 18 Tommie returners saw action in 2023.

Preseason Poll
For the second consecutive season, Tommie Volleyball was picked to finish eighth in the 2024 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll, as determined by the conference's head coaches. The Tommies accumulated 17 points, placing them ahead of Oral Roberts. Omaha, the reigning Summit League tournament champion, was selected to finish first with 64 points and eight first-place votes. Denver followed in second with 51 points and one first-place vote, while South Dakota rounded out the top three with 49 points.

Summit League Players to Watch
Senior outside hitter Lauren Galvin and junior defensive specialist/libero Ella Voegele were named the St. Thomas Players to Watch, as announced by the Summit League in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Galvin, from Woodbury, Minn., participated in the first three matches of 2023 before a season-ending injury. She averaged 2.83 kills and 1.50 digs per set at the UIC Tournament, including 13 kills and seven digs against Lindenwood. In 2022, Galvin led the Tommies with 3.12 kills per set, ranking 10th in the league, and contributed 3.49 points per set, placing her 11th in the Summit.

Voegele, hailing from Plymouth, Minn., set the program's Division I single-season records for digs (432) and digs per set (4.36), finishing second in the Summit League in both categories. She also set the program's Division I single-match record with 33 digs in four sets against Oral Roberts, achieving the highest digs per set mark (8.25) and earning the Tommies' first-ever Summit League Defensive Peak Performer of the Week honor.

Back for More in Peoria
St. Thomas returns to the CEFCU Invitational for the second time in three seasons, most recently competing at the Peoria, Ill., tournament Sept. 16-17. St. Thomas fell to Western Michigan (0-3) and IUPUI (1-3) before dropping a five-set match to Bradley. The Tommies won the first (26-24) and fourth sets (25-21) before a loss in the fifth set (12-15).

Galvin recorded a season high 19 kills against Bradley, hitting .236 to go along with 10 digs. Junior opposite hitter Tezra Rudzitis recorded nine kills on a .200 hitting percentage while junior setter Allie Kopp tallied a season-high 29 assists.

Returning to Form
St. Thomas sees the return of two major pieces of its squad after Lauren Galvin and Emma Goerger battled back from injury. Both previous members of the Summit League All-Freshman Team, Galvin played in the first three matches of 2023 while Goerger played four before season-ending injuries.

Can You Dig It?
Ella Voegele wasted no time making an impression as the Tommies' libero a season ago. The Plymouth, Minn., native and transfer from UNC Greensboro, set St. Thomas DI single-season records with 432 digs and 4.36 digs per set (72nd in NCAA DI). She also set the program's DI single-match record with 33 digs in four sets at Oral Roberts (Nov. 12), also setting the top mark for digs per set (8.25) and earning the program's first ever Summit League Defensive Peak Performer of the Week. Voegele was second in the Summit League in digs per set and ended the year as a selection to the Summit League Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence.

Fresh Contributors
Setter Morgan Kealy and outside hitter Ellie Gustafson were immediate contributors during their freshman campaigns. Kealy set the Tommies' most DI single-season assists (668) and assists per set (7.11), including four of the program's top five single-match assist totals during the DI era, and totaled the fifth most digs per set (2.37) and sixth most digs (223). She began and ended her freshman season with 40+ assist matches, recording 43 during her collegiate debut at UIC (Aug. 25) and 42 to wrap up 2023 at Oral Roberts (Nov. 12).

Gustafson paced the team and set the program's third most single-season kills (240) and fourth most kills per set (2.64), points per set (2.92), and digs per set (2.80) during the DI era. She finished 12th in the Summit League in kills per set, 13th in digs per set and 16th in points per set. Gustafson set career highs of 18 kills against Northern Illinois (Nov. 9) and 23 digs at Oral Roberts.

Tommie Invitational Volleyball Tournament
The Tommies return to Schoenecker Arena Sept. 5-7 to host the second annual Tommie Invitational Volleyball Tournament. St. Thomas will face Tarleton State on Thursday, Valparaiso on Friday and Northern Illinois on Saturday. Fans can purchase tickets to the tournament HERE.

The Tommies will play Tarleton State (Sept. 11, 2021) and Northern Illinois (Sept. 9, 2023) for the second time in program history while making its first appearance against Valpo. St. Thomas fell to TSU 3-0 and beat NIU 3-2 during those first meetings.

Summit League Network
All home Tommie Volleyball matches, and all Summit League matches, will be streamed exclusively on the Summit League Network, in partnership with Midco Sports. A subscription-based network, viewers can access all St. Thomas athletics events HERE.

Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Volleyball, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram at @tommievball

Join Us
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2024 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.

-- St. Thomas Athletics --