COLUMBIA, KY.- St. Thomas (1-5) went 1-1 on the day and close out the tournament as STU earned its first win of the season.
The first game was played against Bethel University (3-7) as the Bobcats took the victory after four sets (25-21, 25-12, 19-25, 25-21) against the Wildcats.

The first set brought out a tight match up as Bethel kept it close. St. Thomas ran off with the lead from the start with a 15-6 run to open up match number three of the tournament. It was immediately after that in which the Wildcats went on a 11-5 run, bringing the score to 17-20. STU would bounce back with a quick succession of points to take the first set by a score of 25-21.

A dominating showing from the Bobcats in the second set earned them a 2-0 lead in the game, with a final score of 25-12. As a team, STU kept BU to a game –minimum of 12 points in the second set. After two sets, Courtney White earned 10 of her 19 kills, making her the brute force that helped STU jump out to a great lead.

The third set had Bethel jump out to a quick 5-1 lead, as the momentum never shifted from their favor, controlling the outcome of the set to a 25-19 victory over the Bobcats.

After a 9-4 run in favor of STU, which then brought the set to a tie 10-10, it was neck and neck, a back and forth brawl in the fourth set as STU would score, so would BU. With the score in favor of Bethel, the Bobcats mounted its first lead of the set with the score at 11-10. A Whitney Battoe kill would be a followed by a Wildcat point. A perfectly placed set for a Carly Durr kill would result in a bounce back point from the opponents. All together in the fourth and final set, seven ties were reached throughout play.

To close out the fourth set the Bobcats forced two timeouts by the Wildcats after quick plays from the brutal offense on the STU front line. A White service ace triggered the first time out by BU with the score line reading 22-20. St. Thomas, only needing three more points to win came out swinging. A pinpoint set from Martino laid out the ground work for Durr as she smacked home a kill. An attacking error by BU left the Bobcats in reach of the final point of the match.

After an intense rally, a saving dig from Battoe would give freshmen Victoria Philpot the opportunity to earn her first game winning kill as STU defeated Bethel in four by a final score of 25-21.

Notable numbers for the Bobcats came from both Battoe and White in match number one as they both tallied 19 kills each, with Durr lurking not too far behind with 11. Martino registered 47 assists and 23 digs in match one. Serving specialist Veronica Gomez earned a perfect five service aces on zero service errors.

The second match of the day brought a tough opponent in #19 Georgetown College, as the Bobcats dropped all three sets against the Tigers (18-25, 19-25, 15-25). A hard fought battle had STU fall just short of an opportunity for a win.

Battoe closed out the night with 12 kills in the second match, as Martino recorded 28 assists.

Next up for the Bobcats is a home matchup against NCAA DII opponents St. Mary's comes in to town on Thursday, September 7 at 7 p.m.

Come out and support!!