MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Kicking off the final week of the 2026 regular season at home on Wednesday evening, the eighth-ranked St. Thomas University women's volleyball team fended off an upset-minded Ave Maria University 3-1 (25-16, 27-29, 25-16, 25-

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #8 St. Thomas 3, Ave Maria 1
Record: #8 St. Thomas (20-5, 13-0 Sun Conference), Ave Maria (8-11, 4-9 Sun Conference) 
All-Time Series: STU leads 33-6

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• Fueled by a .565 hitting percentage, the Bobcats never trailed in the opening set.
• The Bobcats fended off a pair of Ave Maria set points in the second set and forced two of their own before a 3-0 Gyrenes' run evened the overall score.
• St. Thomas scored the opening five points of the third set and never trailed during the stanza.
• Trailing early in the fourth set 6-5, the Bobcats flipped the advantage behind a 4-0 run before quickly creating a double-digit separation at 23-13.

 
NOTEWORTHY:

• Alexandra Bruno boasted 20 kills on a .432 hitting percentage on top of 12 digs for a double-double.
• Payton Bertke dished out 51 assists alongside eight digs and three total blocks (two assisted, one solo).
• Raya Mlyakova added 11 kills and 10 digs.
• Isabel Narbutas chipped in eight kills on a .636 clip with four service aces and three assisted blocks.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• The Bobcats ended the match with 59 kills on a .299 hitting percentage; Ave Maria tallied 46 on a .194 clip.
• St. Thomas served nine aces while the Gyrenes served two.
• St. Thomas recorded one solo block and 12 assisted blocks versus 12 assisted for the visitors.
• The Bobcats held a 59-43 advantage in digs.

 
UP NEXT:
The Bobcats travel to No. 15 Southeastern with the Sun Conference Regular Season title on the line on Saturday, Nov. 7 with first serve set for 11:00 am.