The St. Thomas volleyball team ran through its MIAC opponents early in the NCAA playoffs to earn its place among the final eight teams for the second year in a row. The run leads the Tommies to St. Louis, where they play Eastern University (Pa.) at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Senior Courtney Reinhold leads Eastern (35-2) in kills this season and led her team past Juniata College 3-1 to make the NCAA tournament. Reinhold is the second Eastern player to reach 1,500 career digs.

Eastern’s win over Juniata was the first in program history.

In last year’s national tournament, the Tommies fell to Juniata 3-0 in the quarterfinals. St. Thomas led the Eagles late in both the first and second sets but were unable to close out either win.

The top three ranked teams in the country fell in the regional rounds last weekend including the tournament’s host Washington-St. Louis and the reigning national champions, Calvin College out of Grand Rapids, Mich.

A win against Eastern would put the Tommies in the Final Four against the winner of Springfield and Carthage.

St. Thomas freshman middle blocker Kelly Foley will be making her debut appearance at the tournament as the National Freshman of the Year. The honor marks the first for a Tommie volleyball player. Foley was also chosen as an honorable mention All-American among 70 candidates.

Other national recognitions include senior setter Ashley Maher, who was chosen second team All-America, and junior libero Kaitlain Wachter, who received third team All-America honors.

The All-America award is the first for either player, and Tommie volleyball’s 10th All-America honor in the last nine seasons.