MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (October 7, 2023) - The first round of Sun Conference play has come and gone as the No. 24 St. Thomas University (STU) Volleyball team (16-2, 7-0 SUN) goes perfect through the first seven matches. The task did not come easy as it was a battle through all three sets against a very resilient Coastal Georgia team. The Mariners (6-9, 2-5 SUN) kept a lot of rallies alive putting the pressure in the Bobcat offense. 

Ultimately, St. Thomas came out on top with a 25-16, 28-26, 25-14 three-set sweep. This is the Bobcats 11th with in a row, eighth via a sweep. STU went 21-2 in set wins through conference play dropping just one set a piece to Southeastern and Keiser.

Hope Leavy-Gaskins stole the show getting the starting nod today. The senior had a career high in kills with 17. She also had the most in the match and hit .429 with just two errors in 35 chances.

Freshmen setter Payton Bertke continues to shine with a 38-assist performance. Bertke is ninth in the country in assists per set with 10.65 and at the top of the conference with 11.95 average in SUN play. This is her 10th 30-plus assist game of the season.

Bianca Grassi kept the back row alive with 16-digs. Grassi has had double digit digs in 17 of the 18 matches this season. She leads the conference as the only player to average 5.00 digs per set and above. 

Alexandra Bruno and Sana Dennis also contributed to the offense with 10 and nine kills, respectively. Dennis led the team in blocks with three solos. Five Bobcats notched a service ace. 

STU improves to 16-0 when winning the first set and 11-0 in three-set matches. As a team, the Bobcats are top-20 in the NAIA in kills per set (13.59, 11th), hitting percentage (.241, 17th), assists per set (12.67, 12th), block solos (57, 18th), and points per set (17.4, 12th). 

St. Thomas will start the second round of Sun Conference play Saturday, October 14 in Babson Park against Webber International.

-STU-