The Basics
Score: No. 3 seed St. Thomas 3, No. 1 seed South Dakota State 1
Records: St. Thomas (21-9, 11-5 SL), SDSU (23-4, 16-0 SL)
Location: First Bank & Trust Arena – Brookings, S.D.

BROOKINGS, S.D. – St. Thomas is one-for-one. In their first Summit League Volleyball Championship appearance in program history, the third-seeded Tommies defeated top-seeded South Dakota State 3-1 (25-18, 19-25, 25-21, 25-23) to capture the 2025 title Tuesday at First Bank & Trust Arena. Megan Wetter, one of nine seniors on this Tommies' squad, finished off the fourth set with a kill to give St. Thomas the first Summit League Tournament title and trip to a Division I postseason tournament by any team on campus. 

The Tommies opened the match on a 6-1 run to claim a quick lead and would not relinquish that advantage throughout the opening set. The Jackrabbits did close within a point at 11-10 but a 5-1 response from the Tommies stretched their lead back out to five.

UST would build its advantage to nine with a 6-0 run late in the frame and finish it off a 25-18 victory following a kill by Addie Schmotzer. The Tommies' defense limited the Jacks to a .022 hitting percentage and combined for six blocks as SDSU could never get comfortable offensively.  UST forced the Jacks into 10 first-set attack errors after the top seed combined for just six in their semifinal sweep of NDSU a night earlier.

The teams went back-and-forth early in the second before the Jacks broke a 10-10 tie with a set-changing run. SDSU rattled off eight straight points, which included a successful challenge and four kills from Summit League Player of the Year Sylvie Zgonc, including the final three of that spurt. Madison Burr added six kills during the frame as the Jacks responded with a 25-19 victory to pull even at 1-1.

The Jacks' offense fared much better in set two, racking up 18 kills with only two attack errors, while the Tommies could come up with only one block.

In the third set, it was the Tommies' turn to respond building a 10-5 advantage compliments of a 5-0 run that Championship MVP Morgan Kealy capped with a quick kill from her setter position. St. Thomas extended its lead to 15-8 before the Jacks came roaring back to get within a point at 20-19.

After a St. Thomas timeout, the Tommies would score back-to-back points, finishing off extended rallies on kills by Rudzitis and Ellie Gustafson to push the lead to 22-19. The Jacks would answer with two straight points but Rudzitis closed out the set with three straight kills to put the Tommies back in front 2-1.

The Tommies kept the momentum going early in the fourth set, opening up a 5-2 advantage but the Jacks would quickly close that gap to even things at 8-8. They would break a 10-10 tie with a quick 3-0 spurt that gave St. Thomas a little cushion halfway through the frame.

The Jacks would not go away easy, however, putting together a 5-2 stretch to draw even at 15-15.  The teams would be tied three times down the stretch before Burr put SDSU back in front at 21-20 with her 14th kill of the match.

St. Thomas would reel off the next four points and after the Jacks staved off two match points, Wetter would finish it off with a title-clinching kill that was her 11th of the match.

Who Stood Out
Kealy dished out 41 assists as the Tommies .269 hitting percentage was the best by an SDSU opponent all season. She added 14 digs to record her second straight double-double.

Rudzitis hammered home 22 kills, which was one shy of her season-high, and posted a .327 hitting percentage for the Tommies. Anya Schmidt also put together a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs.

Burr topped all players with a .394 hitting percentage and put down 14 kills for the Jackrabbits. Zgonc added a team-best 19 kills, while Hannah Klein added 10. Rylee Martin finished with 38 assists and 15 digs to record her second double-double of the tournament and 12th of the season.
 
Turning Point
SDSU had pulled ahead for just the second time in the fourth set at 21-20 but the Tommies would score the next four points to take control back of the match. 
 
Notable

• The Tommies tournament title is not only the first in program history but also the first by any St. Thomas team since the department transitioned to the Division I level in 2021-22.
• The Tommies won the first set in all three of their Summit League Championship matches.
• The Tommies matched its season-high with 11 total blocks with Wetter leading those efforts with six.
• Rudzitis became just the fifth player in tournament history to record 50-plus kills and first since 2017 (Oral Roberts' Laura Milos; 57), finishing her three-match run in Brookings with 53, which is the fourth-highest total by a single player.
• The Jackrabbits are still seeking the program's first tile since 2007 after dropping back-to-back championship matches.
• The crowd of 1,632 was the largest for a title match since 2009 and the 3,968 total attendance broke an all-time tournament record.

All-Tournament Team
Madison Burr, SDSU
Lauren Jansen, NDSU
Jamia Johnson, Denver
Kali Jurgensmeier, Omaha
Kamryn Farris, South Dakota
Morgan Kealy, St. Thomas (MVP)
Anya Schmidt, St. Thomas
Tezra Rudzitis, St. Thomas
Sylvie Zgonc, SDSU

Up Next
The Tommies will find out their postseason plans Sunday, Nov. 30, when the 2025 NCAA Division I Volleyball Selection Show airs on ESPN at 5 p.m. CT.
 
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