LAKELAND, Fla. – Opening the 2025 campaign with a pair of a matches at the Southeastern Invitational on Friday, the ninth-ranked St. Thomas Women's Volleyball team won a pair of 3-0 decisions over receiving votes Reinhardt (25-13, 25-17, 25-21) and Point (25-14, 25-22, 25-19)
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS: 
Final: #9 St. Thomaas 3, RV Reinhardt 0 | #9 St. Thomas 3, Point 0 
Records: #9 St. Thomas (2-0), RV Reinhardt (0-1), Point (0-1) 
All-Time Series: STU leads Reinhardt 2-0, leads Point 1-0
 

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 1):  

• The Bobcats quickly raced to a 2-0 overall lead, never trailing in the opening two frames. 

• Facing their first deficit of the season early in the third set at 4-3, the Bobcats used a 7-1 stretch to pull ahead 10-5 and kept the advantage for the rest of the contest. 

NOTEWORTHY (GAME 1): 

• Carolina Cruz paced the offense behind nine kills on a .300 clip. 

• Payton Bertke dished out 22 assists on top of three service aces. 

• Fabiana Mucciola tallied 11 digs. 

• Alexandra Bruno added three service aces and five kills. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 1): 

• The Bobcats ended the match with 31 kills on a .216 hitting percentage, Reinhardt tallied 27 on a .074clip. 

• STU served 12 aces while the Eagles logged three. 

• St. Thomas recorded one solo block with eight assisted versus one solo and four assisted for Reinhardt. 

• The Bobcats held a 30-24 advantage in digs 

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 2):  

• After trading the opening eight points of the first set, the Bobcats scored three straight and kept the lead for the duration of the frame. 

• STU scored the initial four points of the second stanza and held the kept the advantage above three for the remainder of the set. 

• Trailing late in a back-and-forth third set 19-18, the Bobcats used a 7-0 run to end the match. 

NOTEWORTHY (GAME 2): 

• Ranya Mehta erupted for 12 kills on a .429 clip in her STU debut. 

• Payton Bertke dished out 38 assists on top of five kills and three service aces. 

• Fabiana Mucciola tallied 12 digs. 

• Raya Mlyakova chipped in nine kills on a 600 hitting percentage. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 2): 

• The Bobcats ended the match with 50 kills on a .376 hitting percentage, Point tallied 278 on a .186 clip. 

• STU served eight aces while the Skyhawks logged five. 

• St. Thomas recorded one solo block versus two assisted for Point. 

• The Bobcats held a 41-34 advantage in digs 

UP NEXT: 

The Bobcats trek to St. Louis Mo., for the Missouri Baptist Invite, taking on Viterbo and host MBU on Wednesday, Aug. 20.