St. Thomas women’s volleyball swept Concordia 3-0 Wednesday night at Schoenecker Arena in its first MIAC conference matchup of the season.

The Tommies (6-3 overall, 1-0 MIAC) battled with the Cobbers (0-1 MIAC, 2-7 overall) throughout the match. The second set proved to be a challenge for both teams, featuring seven lead changes and two four-point leads blown. However, the Tommies held off the Cobbers at the end of each set to sweep the match.

Senior Julia Spacek and junior Madie Kroehler played large roles in the team’s late-set defense, combining for 23 kills in the match.

“I think that the composure and the veteran leadership that we have allows us to close out games,” coach Thanh Pham said. “However, we do have to stop those runs sooner and that’s one thing we will be working on in practice.”

Despite the Tommies’ difficulties, Pham praised the effort his team displayed throughout the game.

“I thought the kids tried really hard, I wish our execution was better,” said Pham. “However, we do have to stop those runs sooner and that’s one thing we will be working on in practice.”

The win gave the Tommies their first in the MIAC this season.

“Our conference is extremely tough, it’s unbearable at times,” Pham said. “To pick up the early (win) at home means a lot, but now we’ve just got to move past it and go get the others.”

The Tommies head to River Falls, Wisconsin this weekend to compete in the Wis.-River Falls Tournament.

Hayden Brockwell can be reached at broc4530@stthomas.edu.