West Palm Beach, Fla. – Concluding their gauntlet to start the season that featured two nationally-ranked teams and three program receiving votes on Saturday, the 19th-ranked St. Thomas volleyball team outlasted Benedictine Mesa in their first match of the day 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 27-25, 26-24) before winning back-to-back sets to cap off a 3-2 victory (25-17, 20-25, 20-25, 25-15, 15-3) over 22nd-ranked Valley City State to improve to 5-0 on the season.
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS:
Final: #19 St. Thomas 3, RV Benedictine Mesa 1 | #19 St. Thomas 3, #22 Valley City 2
Records: #19 St. Thomas (5-0), Benedictine (3-1) #22 Valley City (2-2)
All-Time Series: St. Thomas leads Benedictine 1-0, leads Valley City 1-0
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 1):
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Set 1 –Holding a 16-15 lead in an opening set that saw neither side hold a lead greater than three over the opening 31 points, the Bobcats scored seven-straight points to boast a 23-15 advantage. Benedictine cut into the deficit behind back-to-back points before St. Thomas forced set point, with the Bobcats' taking the opener 25-19.
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Set 3 – After trading the opening 46 points of the third set that featured 13 tied scores, Benedictine forced set point at 24-23. The Bobcats flipped the one-point advantage to force set point at 25-24, scoring back-to-back points following a Benedictine score to take a 2-1 overall lead.
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Set 4 – Trailing midway through the fourth set 15-13, the Bobcats used a 7-0 run to take a 20-15 advantage. The Redhawks rallied to get within one at 21-20, knotting the score at 22- all before a pair of STU points sandwiching a Benedictine point to give St. Thomas match point at 24-23. The Bobcats countered a Benedictine point the evened the score with back-to-back points to end the match.
NOTEWORTHY (GAME 1):
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 1):
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 2):
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Set 5 – Trailing midway through the deciding set 8-6, the Bobcats used a 4-0 rally too flip the two-point advantage at 10-8. St. Thomas forced match point at 14-10 behind a 3-0 run, ending Valley City's rally after three-straight points made it a one-point game at 14-13.
NOTEWORTHY (GAME 2):
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 2):
UP NEXT:
The Bobcats travel to Barry University on Wednesday, Aug. 21 with first serve slated for 6 p.m.