The St. Thomas volleyball team won its fourth-consecutive match Oct. 26, defeating Concordia-Moorhead 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-12) and locked up the third seed in next week’s MIAC playoffs.
The Tommies (20-7 overall, 8-2 MIAC) never trailed against the Cobbers (8-17 overall, 4-6 MIAC) Wednesday. The team has won seven of its last eight matches.
“We are starting to hit a good stride,” St. Thomas coach Thanh Pham said. “We’ve been on a great streak, and we’re proud to see it carry over to this home match.”
The Cobbers did not go down without a fight. With St. Thomas leading 9-6 in the first set, the Cobbers defended multiple Tommie attacks during a long rally. Ellie Etzell applied the pressure for St. Thomas, who won the rally on a double-hit error.
Etzell and Whitney Lloyd led the Tommies in scoring with 14 and 11 kills respectively.
“I thought Ellie and Whitney played fantastic,” Pham said. “They bring a positive energy to our team, and when they are dominant like they were tonight it leads to smooth sailing for our team.”
Brooke Reichart also added eight kills for St. Thomas.
Defensively, Ellie Meyer led the Tommies with 24 digs.
The Tommies final regular season match is Oct. 29 at Macalester at 3 p.m.
Following the matchup with Macalester, St. Thomas will begin MIAC playoff action at Schoenecker Arena Nov. 1 at 7 p.m.
The teams joining the Tommies in the MIAC playoffs include top-seeded Augsburg, second-seeded Gustavus and fourth-seeded Saint Mary’s. Two other teams will also qualify for the six-team tournament.
The playoff bracket will be released after the regular season concludes on Saturday.
Taylor Smith can be reached at smit9660@stthomas.edu.