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Meet me in St. Louis! St. Thomas gets first VB trip to nationals
On a cold and cloudy Sunday, the sun shined on Coach Thanh Pham and his Tommie volleyball players, who won the biggest match of their college lives.
The second-seed Tommies rallied in each set to post a 3-0 victory over top-seed St. Olaf. UST prevailed 25-20, 27-25, 25-14 before a spirited crowd of nearly 500 in the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex.
The No. 12-ranked Tommies (31-6) will advance to St. Louis and next weekend's eight-team national finals. They had lost three consecutive matches to St. Olaf in the last 53 weeks including a 3-0 decision in Northfield eight days ago in the MIAC playoff finals.
It's the first St. Thomas volleyball trip to the national finals in school history. UST previously was 0-6 all-time in regional championship matches, including three losses since 2005, all as the underdog.
St. Thomas hit an impressive .325 and showed an exceptional ability to close out each set.
UST closed the first set with 9-2 run after trailing 18-16; closed the second set with 14-6 run after trailing 19-13; and ended the match with a 12-1 run after the score was tied 13-13.
St. Thomas has won 26 of its last 29 matches since a Sept. 15 home loss to the Oles, including nine in a row at home.
All-American Kim Smisek had 13 kills and 12 digs to lead the Oles (31-5), who had a 14-match winning streak halted.
