Campbellsville, Ky. – Kicking off their 2026 campaign at the River State Conference (RSC)/Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) challenge in Campbellsville, Ky., the No. 3 St. Thomas University Men's Volleyball opened the season with back-to-back wins against Brescia (26-24, 25-14, 25-17) and Oakland City (20-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-20) before falling to the host Tigers (25-27, 23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 23-21) in a top-10 matchup.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #3 St. Thomas 3, Brescia 0 | #3 St. Thomas 3, Oakland City 1 | #3 St. Thomas 2, #10 Campbellsville 3
All-Time Series: STU leads Brescia and Oakland 1-0, tied with Campbellsville 1-0
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 1):
- Facing set point in a back-and-forth opening set at 24-23, the Bobcats scored three-straight points to take the initial frame 26-23.
- STU scored the opening five points of the second set, and nine of the initial 11, to quickly create a 9-2 lead and never trailed in the stanza.
- The Bobcats pulled away from their opposition midway through the third set behind a 5-0 run that propelled them to a 13-7 lead, keeping the advantage above five for the rest of the night.
NOTEWORTHY (Game 1):
- 2025 All-American Kaelen Ingram paced the offense behind 10 kills on a .316 clip, adding five digs and two assisted blocks.
- Timothy Reyes dished out 16 assists on top of two assisted blocks.
- Victor Monaco added a team-best seven digs.
- Murilo Hauari boasted one solo block and five assisted.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Game 1):
- The Bobcats ended the match with 40 kills on a .300 hitting percentage; Brescia tallied 21 on a .086 clip.
- STU served five ace while Brescia logged four.
- St. Thomas recorded two solo blocks and 23 assisted versus two solo and 13 assisted for Brescia.
- The Bobcats held a 27-19 advantage in digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 2):
- Oakland overcame a 7-2 start for the Bobcats to tie the score at 12-all before taking the lead at 17-16 and holding it for the rest of the first set.
- After splitting the initial 16 points of the second stanza, the Bobcats scored 10 of the ensuing 11 points to boast an 18-9 advantage before fending off a rally attempt by the Mighty Oaks to even the overall score.
- Trailing midway through the third set 15-12, St. Thomas knotted the score at 15-all before taking the lead 18-17 and holding Oakland without a run of consecutive points for the rest of the frame to take a 2-1 overall lead.
- STU responded to an Oakland tally to start the fourth set with back-to-back points and never trailed for the rest of the match.
NOTEWORTHY (Game 2):
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Game 2):
- The Bobcats ended the match with 40 kills on a .191 hitting percentage; Oakland tallied 48 on a .106 clip.
- STU served one ace while the Mighty Oaks logged three.
- St. Thomas recorded four solo blocks and 22 assisted versus three solo and 16 assisted for Oakland City.
- The Bobcats held a 34-29 advantage in digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 3):
- Trailing late in the opening set 23-21, STU took set point behind a 3-0 rally before fending off a 25-24 set point by Campbellsville using another 3-0 run to take the first stanza.
- Behind a .500 hitting percentage, the Bobcats never trailed in the second set to move one frame away from victory.
- The host scored the opening two points of the third set and never trailed in the stanza.
- St. Thomas held a late 22-21 lead in the fourth set, only for three-straight points by the Tigers giving the host set point.
- The Bobcats used an early 3-0 run to take a 4-2 lead, the only lead larger than one either side had until the last point of the night.
NOTEWORTHY (Game 3):
- Ingram led the offense behind 23 kills, adding five assisted blocks and five digs.
- Gabriel Negrao added 19 kills with 12 digs for a double-double.
- Rafael Obrusnik dished out 50 assist alongside six digs.
- Diaz-dube chipped in 11 assisted blocks.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Game 3):
- The Bobcats ended the match with 61 kills on a .269 hitting percentage; Campbellsville tallied 75 on a .291 clip.
- The Tigers served five aces.
- St. Thomas recorded two solo blocks and 32 assisted versus 24 assisted for the host.
- Campbellsville held a 42-38 advantage in digs.
UP NEXT:
The Bobcats welcome National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) foe Lees McRae for their home opener on Monday, Jan. 26 with first serve slated for 7:00 pm.
