St. Thomas’ historic season came to a close Friday night at Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis in a five-set battle with No. 5 Iowa State, 25-21, 13-25, 16-25, 25-21, 8-15.
Iowa State’s balanced attack proved too much for St. Thomas as four different Cyclones finished with double-digit kills. The Tommies valiant effort came up just short of a monumental upset.
In its first season of Division I postseason eligibility, St. Thomas played its first NCAA Tournament match. The Tommies looked to win and snap a 28-year drought by Summit League teams in the NCAA Tournament.
St. Thomas held its own against No. 5 Iowa State in the first set snatching a 13-10 lead midway through thanks to strong serving and dominant net presence.
Tommies head coach Thanh Pham said while Iowa State poses problems for opponents his team’s recent success in the first set had him confident.
“We were actually expecting to win the first set, and to actually (play) out that way was actually a touch of relief,” Pham said.
St. Thomas sealed Set 1 with an Addie Schmotzer kill on setter Morgan Kealy’s 15th assist of the set. It was the Tommies first-ever set win in the Division I NCAA Tournament.
St. Thomas hit .355 in the opening frame and was led by senior middle blocker Megan Wetter and freshman outside hitter Anya Schmidt with four kills each.
Kealy said the plethora of options across the court helps the offense stay on track.
“There’s really no bad option on our team,” Kealy said. “Having a balanced offense, and being able to trust anyone at any time.”
The second set started in similar back-and-forth fashion but the Cyclones asserted themselves with a 5-0 run midway through to take a 12-8 lead, forcing Pham to call a timeout.
The Tommies could not find an answer for Iowa State’s offensive onslaught as the run reached 11-0 before St. Thomas got back on the board. The Cyclones cruised to the finish line in Set 2 to even the match.
Cyclones head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said St. Thomas came out aggressively at the service line but her team found its rhythm in Set 2.
“Sometimes you’re just in that groove, and especially once we calmed down, you could see what we’re capable of,” Johnson-Lynch said. “So we just had to calm down, we had to serve a past much better. We were kind of on our heels (in) set one.””
Iowa State found its flow offensively in the second set, hitting .552 with 16 kills and no attacking errors.
It was a commanding 25-16 Set 3 victory for Iowa State, who never trailed in the set, and put the Cyclones in pole position to advance.
But the Tommies, fighting for their season, responded by jumping out to a 7-3 lead in the fourth set. St. Thomas then responded to an Iowa State surge with a 6-1 run to grab a 19-15 edge.
Iowa State made it close late but a gritty St. Thomas effort helped the Tommies seize a 25-21 Set 4 win and force a season-deciding fifth set.
The Cyclones opened up an 8-5 lead in Set 5 thanks to three diving digs from sophomore libero Rachel Van Gorp. She finished with a career-high 33 digs.
Iowa State carried that momentum down the stretch to collect its first NCAA Tournament win since Dec. 2, 2022.
St. Thomas season ends in heartbreak after taking Iowa State the distance. Pham teared up as he talked about this special group and the nine seniors who played their final match.
“Today we didn’t win, but our program got better,” Pham said. “I know that on the scoreboard, a lot of people are looking at, “did you get the W?” I just feel like it was a momentous step for our program to compete with a team like Iowa State.”
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