West Palm Beach, Fla. – Continuing their season-opening weekend with a pair of matches against programs receiving votes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Preseason Poll on Friday at the Keiser Tournament, the 19th-ranked St. Thomas volleyball team kicked off play with a 3-0 sweep of Indiana Tech (25-22, 25-13, 25-14) before blanking Dakota State 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-17) 
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS: 
Final: #19 St. Thomas 3, RV Indiana Tech 0 | #19 St. Thomas 3, RV Dakota State 0 
Records: #19 St. Thomas (3-0), Indiana Tech (0-4), Dakota State (1-2)
All-Time Series: St. Thomas leads Indiana Tech 2-1, leads Dakota State 2-0
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 1):  

• Set 1 -Facing an early 7-2 deficit, STU knotted the score behind a 6-1 rally to make it 8-all. The two sides traded the ensuing 28 points to keep the score tied at 22-all before the Bobcats ended the frame with the final three points. 

• Set 2 – The Bobcats jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and never trailed in the second set. 

• Set 3 – St. Thomas used an early 9-1 stretch to take a 13-4 advantage, quickly creating a double-digit cushion at 16-6. STU kept the lead in double digits for the duration of the set. 

 
NOTEWORTHY (GAME 1): 

• Sana Dennis powered the Bobcats behind eight kills, three assisted blocks and two service aces. 

• Carolina Guerreiro Cruz added seven kills, one solo block and one assisted block. 

• Bianca Grassi tallied 11 digs with one service ace. 

• Payton Bertke dished out 25 assists on top of seven kills. 

• Alexandra Bruno served four aces. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 1): 

• STU finished the match with 39 kills on a .273 hitting percentage versus 24 kills on a .151 clip for the Indiana Tech. 

• St. Thomas served 11 aces while the Warriors tallied four. 

• The Bobcats boasted one solo block with 12 assisted, Indiana Tech recorded one solo and four assisted. 

• The Bobcats held a 35-30 advantage in digs. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 2):  

• Set 1 – After trading the opening 22 points of the contest, STU scored four-straight to take a 15-11 lead. Dakota State cut the deficit down to one behind three-straight points, keeping it a one-point game at 17-16 before a 3-0 Bobcats' run extended the separation to 20-16. St. Thomas limited Dakota State to only one string of consecutive points down the stretch, back-to-back points that made it 23-20 STU, to hold the advantage and take the first set. 

• Set 2 –STU started the second set with the opening two points, and eight of the initial 10, to quickly take an 8-2 lead. Dakota State quickly made it a one-point game behind a 5-0 run, keeping the separation within four before knotting the score at 24-24. The Bobcats scored the ensuing two points to take a 2-0 overall lead. 

• Set 3 – Dakota State used back-to-back points following a Bobcats' kill to start the third set to take an early lead, with STU holding the Trojans to only one other 2-0 spree during the stanza to complete their third-straight sweep. 

 
NOTEWORTHY (GAME 2): 

• Tayla Barnes boasted 14 kills on a .440 clip while adding two assisted blocks. 

• Hope Leavy-Gaskins added 13 kills and two service aces. 

• Grassi anchored the defense behind 29 digs. 

• Bertke dished out 41 assists with one ace. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 2): 

• STU finished the match with 55 kills on a .331 hitting percentage versus 33 kills on a .215 clip for the Trojans. 

• St. Thomas served five aces while Dakota State tallied four. 

• The Bobcats tallied one solo block and four assisted while Dakota State had one solo and six assisted. 

• St. Thomas held a 59-48 advantage in digs. 

UP NEXT: 

The Bobcats conclude play in the Keiser Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 17 against Benedictine University and 22nd-ranked Valley City State.