Middle blocker Kelly Foley’s 11 kills helped the St. Thomas volleyball team stomp St. Catherine in a three-set sweep Wednesday at the Wildcats’ Butler Center.

The win pushed the team to 12-1 overall and 3-0 MIAC; the women are one win away from giving coach Thanh Pham his 300th victory with the Tommies.

For Foley, helping Pham achieve this honor serves as momentum for the team.

“We definitely want to get that for him, and we’re really excited for him,” Foley said. “We want to keep pushing to get those wins.”

In the first set, Foley pounded a kill to give the Tommies the first points of the match. Outside hitter Ashley Dahly kept the team storming ahead when she rattled the Wildcats with a deep ace, widening the team’s lead to 11-4.

Dahly struck back later in the set, cutting through the Wildcats’ block and giving her team the 20-12 upper hand. Dahly racked up three kills and one ace throughout the match. The Wildcats struck back with a vengeance when middle blocker Amber Zeiher crushed an overpass to put her team only points behind the Tommies at 20-14.

It wasn’t until Foley and middle blocker Paige Brimeyer pressed a solid double block to lock in the set with the Tommies at set point, that the 25-18, set-one victory was sealed.

Setter Maddie Reese kept the Tommie momentum going in the second set when she stunted the Wildcat defense with a dump to the vacant middle of the court, putting the team on the board 1-0. Reese went on to lead the team with 25 assists.

Outside hitter Nicole Potts took matters into her own hands when she tooled the Wildcats’ block, giving the Tommies an 11-5 lead. Brimeyer and Foley posted another double block to maintain the Tommies’ strong position over the Wildcats 14-8.

Pham said the Tommies’ offense is dangerous to its opponents.

“We have such dangerous hitters that it puts a lot of stress on the other team as far as blocking,” Pham said. “When we’re in system … we’re just tough to beat, and that’s where we spend a lot of time, is working on staying in system.”

Outside hitter Jill Greenfield solidified the team’s victory with an ace, ending on a 25-10 note. Greenfield tallied five kills and 11 digs throughout the match.

Coming into the third set with a 2-0 advantage, outside hitter Sydney Westfield stepped up for the Tommies when she smashed a kill, painting it down the Wildcats’ line and pushing her team ahead 10-4. Westfield sealed the deal when she cranked a kill, ending the set 25-15 and giving her team the 3-0 sweep. Westfield contributed seven kills to the Tommies’ 47 total kills.

Brimeyer said Wednesday’s match kept the team moving forward.

“Every game is always good practice for the next one,” Brimeyer said. “We’re always looking at the next game and knowing that we can play this solid.”

St. Thomas’ next challenge is St. Olaf on Saturday in Northfield.

For Pham, the team takes its competition as it comes and focuses on the moment.

“We just try to focus on each match one at a time,” Pham said. “Whatever happened previous and what’s going to happen on our schedule next week doesn’t really matter; we just know that we have St. Olaf next.”

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