Junior setter Katie Maher’s 25 assists helped the seventh-ranked St. Thomas volleyball team defeat the College of Saint Benedict 3-0 in its home opener, Saturday, Sept. 22, at Schoenecker Arena.

The victory marked the Tommies’ 18th consecutive win at home.

Coach Thanh Pham said he came into today’s match not underestimating the Blazers’ (12-4, 2-1) potential, but acknowledged the strength of their team and program.

“I knew it was going to be a tough match. St. Ben’s is a really good program, (and a) really good team,” Pham said, “but I knew that if we executed the way we can, it would be tough for them to pull out a win on our home floor.”

The match commenced with St. Thomas (14-1, 3-0) on top and a wave of energy coming from its side of the court. Sophomore outside hitter Jill Greenfield went on a six-point serving run to give the Tommies a 7-2 lead. Greenfield continued to dominate with a game-changing kill at 15-7, shifting the momentum of the game in St. Thomas’ favor.

Sophomore middle blocker Kelly Foley contributed to the team’s success in the first set with a kill, keeping the Tommies in the lead, making the score 18-8.

Foley said the team’s excitement contributed to its success.

“I think we’re all just so excited that we couldn’t wait to get on the court and play them,” Foley said. “We just need to keep reminding ourselves that it’s just another game and we can only take it one game at a time.”

The team continued to dominate the Blazers in the first set and pushed hard to the end with Greenfield’s ace, taking the first set 25-7.

The second set began with an ace from Maher. The Blazers, fought back, going neck and neck with the Tommies. Greenfield and Foley kept St. Thomas in the lead with a double block, making the score 15-7.

The Blazers battled back with the help of junior libero Chelsea Rachel’s serving run, bringing the team within three points at 16-13. The Tommies fired back with Foley’s solo block, bringing the game score to 17-13. Junior outside hitter Nicole Potts smashed a game-altering kill, bringing the Tommies closer to a 2-0 set lead.

Potts said she believes the team’s chemistry and work ethic propelled it to the end of the set.

“Coach (Pham) has just really been focusing on working hard. If we work hard we can do what we want,” Potts said.

The Tommies won set No. 2 with a score of 25-21.

Set No. 3 started with Foley fired a kill past the Blazer defense. Potts kept the attack going by ripping a ball down the line, keeping the team in front, 7-2. St. Thomas continued its impressive performance with Foley and Potts’ aggressive hitting. The Blazers battled back tying the set at 16-16 and a point later taking the lead.

Potts said she knew although the Tommies were down, they had to keep their focus and not worry about what was happening on the other side.

“You can’t stop swinging because you’re down. You can’t let up,” Potts said.

After taking a timeout, St. Thomas stepped back onto the court with a renewed enthusiasm and spirit. Potts put away a kill to even the score. Foley put the Tommies in position for victory a few points later with a kill at 21-19. The middle blocker said she was unaware of the score because of her focus on the set itself.

“I didn’t even know what the score was,” Foley said. “We try not to pay attention, just work as hard as we can and we know we’ll come out on top.”

The game ended with a bang with junior right-side hitter Paige Brimeyer’s kill, cementing set No. 3 and the match, 25-22.

With the win, the Tommies remain atop the conference standings, tied with Concordia-Moorhead College and St. Olaf College at 3-0. The Tommies hit .500 as a team.

Pham’s only piece of improvement is having the team play united.

“There’s obviously things that we need to work on but again if we just can work on being a better team and playing for each other I think that that’ll solve a lot of our issues,” Pham said.

The Tommies’ next matches are Wednesday in doubleheader action against Northwestern College (Minn.) and Wisconsin-Eau Claire at home.

Sean Crotty can be reached at crot0230@stthomas.edu.