Montgomery, Ala. – Wrapping up play at the Faulkner Tournament on Saturday with a doubleheader, the 19 ranked St. Thomas Volleyball team kept their perfect start to the season in tact behind a 3-1 (25-21, 25-17, 29-31, 25-16) victory over William Carey before sweeping Freed-Hardeman (25-18, 25-13, 25-17).
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS:
Final: #19 St. Thomas 3, William Carey 1 | #19 St. Thomas 3, Freed-Hardeman 0
Records: #19 St. Thomas (9-0), William Carey (5-2), Freed-Hardeman (0-3)
All-Time Series: St. Thomas leads William Carey 2-0,
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 1):
- Set 1 -Playing from behind for the bulk of the opening set, St. Thomas pulled ahead 20-17 behind a 4-0 rally. William Carey got within one at 21-20, only for a 3-0 STU response forcing set point.
- Set 2 – The Bobcats scored the opening two points of the second stanza and led for the entire frame, holding the Crusaders without a run of consecutive points until back-to-back tallies made it 16-11 STU.
- Set 3 – William Carey jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage and kept the lead until a 4-0 STU rally made it 17-15. The Crusaders knotted the score at 18-all, reclaiming the lead at 22-21 before forcing set point at 24-23. St. Thomas flipped the one-point lead behind back-to-back points, with the Bobcats' fending off set point four times before William Carey closed the stanza.
- Set 4 – St. Thomas responded to a set-opening point from William Carey with four-straight, keeping the lead for the rest of the stanza to close out the match.
NOTEWORTHY (GAME 1):
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 1):
- STU finished the match with 66 kills on a .310 hitting percentage versus 52 kills on a .241 clip for the Crusaders.
- St. Thomas served eight aces while William Carey tallied four.
- The Bobcats boasted four solo blocks with 10 assisted, WCU recorded two solo and 10 assisted.
- The Bobcats held a 54-46 advantage in digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 2):
- Set 1 – Trailing by one early in the first set, STU scored four-straight points to take an 11-8 advantage. FHU rallied to get within on at 12-11, only for the Bobcats to score eight of the ensuing 10 points to create a 20-13 separation.
- Set 2 – The Bobcats scored the opening three points, and 10 of the initial 12, to quickly build a 10-2 lead and kept the separation above seven for the rest of the frame.
- Set 3 – STU created an early double-digit lead at 12-2 and fended off a late comeback attempt from Freed-Hardeman that made it a three-point game at 20-17 behind a match-ending 5-0 run.
NOTEWORTHY (GAME 2):
- Barnes paced the offense behind eight kills on a .385 hitting percentage while adding three assisted blocks.
- Maria Eduarda Ferreira Ramos chipped in six kills and six digs which tied for the team lead on top of three aces.
- Melanie Chiquillo tied for the team lead in digs with six.
- Payton Bertke tallied 15 assists and three service aces.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 2):
- STU finished the match with 33 kills on a .253 hitting percentage versus 29 kills on a .179 clip for the Lions.
- St. Thomas served 12 aces while Freed-Hardeman tallied two.
- The Bobcats boasted one solo block with eight assisted, FHU recorded three solo and four assisted.
- The Bobcats held a 30-26 advantage in digs.
UP NEXT:
The Bobcats host Nova Southeastern in a scrimmage on Tuesday, Aug. 27 before cohosting the South Florida Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 31 and Sunday, Sept. 1.
