Outside hitter Jill Greenfield racked up 11 kills for the St. Thomas volleyball team Wednesday, downing the Carleton Knights in three sets at Schoenecker Arena.
The No. 4-ranked Tommies (23-2 overall, 8-1 MIAC) handed the Knights (11-13 overall, 0-9 MIAC) their ninth conference loss.
Middle blocker Paige Brimeyer was one of five seniors honored before the game and said the win couldn’t have been more rewarding.
“Even though it was Senior Night, (Pham) wanted to work everybody in so that the seniors can see what we’re leaving behind,” Brimeyer said. “It’s really cool to see that everyone I practice with everyday can play no matter what.”
In the first set, middle blocker Mackenzie Piechowski jumped and cranked a kill on an open Carleton net, widening the team’s lead to 4-3. Piechowski contributed two kills and one dig on the night.
The Tommies rolled forward with strong momentum when middle blocker Kelly Foley broke through the Knights’ double block, giving the team a 14-9 advantage. Setter Maddie Reese stunted the Knights’ serve receive with an ace that trickled over the net, sealing the deal 25-17.
Greenfield said the team’s strong play was a good way to honor the seniors.
“We really wanted to go out and do it for the seniors,” Greenfield said. “It’s not our last home game, but really to show our appreciation for them. They work hard for us, so we wanted to work hard for them.”
With the first-set victory wrapped up, the Tommies came out hot again when Foley crushed a kill over a solo block from the Knights, pushing the St. Thomas lead to 6-1. Foley tallied seven kills and four blocks on the night.
Middle blocker Kelly Biermann put the Tommies in closing position in the second set with her cross-court kill to put a 24-11 score on the board. Biermann didn’t stop there and put another kill down to give the Tommies a 25-12 second-set victory.
Coach Thanh Pham said the team strives to play each match at a certain level.
“Just focusing on what we can control on our side of the net and handling things one point at a time, I think that really helps us,” Pham said. “It doesn’t matter who we have in, we try to maintain a standard that we set in practice.”
Brimeyer carried the team’s fire over into the third set when she pummeled a kill after a long volley between the teams- the Knights trailing 15-7. Brimeyer struck back again, this time on defense, posting a double block with Foley, holding the Knights to a 24-7 score. Brimeyer decided the match when she put away a kill for a 25-8 third-set score.
The Tommies challenge the Bethel Royals on Saturday at home.
For Greenfield, the team will look to continue what they have done all season.
“We usually treat everyone the same,” Greenfield said. “We always say the hardest opponent is our next opponent. We really prepare hard- don’t change much for different teams.”
Sean Crotty can be reached at crot0230@stthomas.edu.