JACKS OUTLAST ST. THOMAS, 3-2

Saturday, October 3

St. Paul, Minn.

Noon

South Dakota State University

6-8,2-1Summit League

St. Thomas

3-10,1-3Summit League

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
South Dakota St.	18	25	23	28	15	3
St. Thomas (MN)	25	23	25	26	13	2

A group of players in white uniforms celebrates after a win.

Photo by: Riley Edds

10/3/2026 3:29:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

ST. PAUL, Minn. - SDSU fought back from the brink of defeat against St. Thomas as the Jacks outlasted the Tommies in five sets, 3-2.

Sylvie Zgonc and Hannah Klein led the way for the Jacks, totaling 18 and 13 kills, respectively. Klein contributed in a big way defensively as well, adding six blocks of her own to lead the team. Claire Logeais impressed in her return home, as she put up seven kills on 15 swings and added four blocks for the Jackrabbits.

Two Jackrabbits tallied double-doubles as Brooke Larsen picked up 11 assists and 13 digs and Sylvie Zgonc grabbed 18 kills and 12 digs. Joslyn Richardson put up another 20+ dig game, totalling 23 digs. Rylee Martin pulled the strings for the Jacks, putting up a 31-assist game.

For the Tommies, it all ran through Anya Schmidt. The sophomore put up 25 kills on 67 swings while adding 14 digs. Morgan Kealy set up the offense, ending with 49 assists, 17 digs, and five blocks. Addie Schmotzer added 13 kills and five blocks in an impressive performance.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Set 1: The Tommies got off to a hot start in set one, giving the Jacks an early five-point deficit and extending it to a 15-10 lead at the media timeout. The Jacks were able to fight back in the set towards the end as they went on a three-point run, down 23-14, but it proved too late as St. Thomas scored on kills from Schmotzer and Reilly Kurth to secure set one, 25-18.

Set 2: The Jacks responded in kind in the second set, reversing the trend from the first set and taking a five-point lead of their own into the media timeout, 15-10. But the Tommies weren't out of it quite yet, as they responded with a four-point run to cut the deficit to one. The Jacks were able to stave off the offense of the Tommies for a while before St. Thomas dropped a three-point run to go up 21-18 late in the set. But the Jacks fought back with a 3-0 run, highlighted by kills for Zgonc and Klein. Klein went into overdrive to finish the set as she put down a kill and assisted on a block to secure the final two points for the Jacks, taking the set, 25-3, and evening the match score at one apiece.

Set 3: The Jacks came out hot again in set three, taking an early 6-3 advantage over the Tommies, which the Tommies quickly put to bed as they responded with a six-point run to take a 9-6 lead in the set. The two squads traded points back and forth up to the media timeout as St. Thomas held on to a 15-13 lead. The Jacks came out of the media timeout hot, with a 4-0 run, which was quickly answered with a 3-0 Tommies run. St. Thomas was able to put together a couple of two-point rallies and ultimately steal the set from the Jacks, 25-23.

Set 4: The two teams played another back-and-forth set as the squads traded points all the way to 18-18. A four-point run by the Tommies followed by a Schmidt kill had the Jacks reeling, as they needed to score three consecutive points to stave off defeat. A service and an attack error opened the door for the Jacks, before Rylee Martin fired off an ace to even the score at 24-24. Both teams had an opportunity to put the other away, but service errors for both sides prolonged the set. With the score at 26-26, SDSU was able to free up Zgonc for a kill before Brooke Larsen and Taylor Byl stuffed an Ellie Gustafson attack, clinching the set for the Jackrabbits, 28-26.

Set 5: The two sides once again went to war in the fifth. SDSU grabbed an early 6-4 lead, but St. Thomas erased it with a 3-0 run that put them up 9-7. A trio of attack errors by the Tommies let the Jacks back into the game before Claire Logeais and Klein added kills to put the Jacks up 12-11. A Tommie service error and a Larsen ace set up a Jack match point, where it was pounced on by Zgonc as she delivered a decisive blow off the hands of a Tommie middle blocker to secure the set for the Jacks, 15-13, and the match 3-2.

NOTES: