Miami Gardens, Fla. – Setting the tone for St. Thomas Athletics with the first event of the 2024-25 academic year on Thursday evening, the 19
th-ranked volleyball team swept 11
th-ranked Missouri Baptist (25-15, 25-17, 25-17) in a matchup of top-20 teams.
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS:
Final: #19 St. Thomas 3, #11 Missouri Baptist 0
Records: #19 St. Thomas (1-0), #11 Missouri Baptist (0-1)
All-Time Series: Missouri Baptist leads 8-2
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Set 1 -STU scored the opening three points of the night, responding to a 4-0 rally by Missouri Baptist that knotted the score at 9-all with a 5-0 run to pull ahead 14-9. The Bobcats held MBU without a run of consecutive points for the duration of the first set.
- Set 2 – After trading the initial 10 points of the second set, STU used a 6-0 run to take an 11-5 advantage. The host kept the lead above four for the rest of the set to quickly take a 2-0 overall lead.
- Set 3 – St. Thomas scored the opening three points of the final frame and led for the entire stanza to complete the sweep.
NOTEWORTHY:
- 2023 All-Conference Second Team member Tayla Barnes paced the offense behind eight kills on a .667 clip while adding five assisted blocks.
- Maria Eduarda Ferreira Ramos tied for the team-lead in her STU debut with eight kills to go along with eight digs and one assisted block.
- Reigning Sun Conference Libero of the Year Bianca Grassi tallied 13 digs with two service aces.
- 2023 Sun Conference Setter of the Year Payton Bertke dished out 27 assists.
- Hope Leavy-Gaskins filled out the stat sheet behind six kills, three digs, three assisted blocks and one service ace.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- STU finished the match with 37 kills on a .321 hitting percentage versus 29 kills on a .072 clip for the visitors.
- St. Thomas served six aces while MBU tallied two.
- The Bobcats boasted one solo block with 11 assisted, Missouri Baptist recorded one solo and six assisted.
- The hold held a 42-34 advantage in digs.
UP NEXT:
The Bobcats head to West Palm Beach on Friday, Aug. 16 to take on Indiana Tech and Dakota State at the Keiser Tournament.
