Seniors Payton Willman, Lauren Galvin, Libby Mattila and Lander Friederichs smile after their last collegiate volleyball game with their friends and family. The Tommies beat Oral Roberts in four sets Saturday at Schoenecker Arena. (Eli Andersen/The Crest) 
Galvin hugs her parents before her final game. (Eli Andersen/The Crest) 
Sophomore outside hitter Ellie Gustafson goes for the kill. (Eli Andersen/The Crest) 
Junior middle blocker Megan Wetter elevates for a spike. (Eli Andersen/The Crest) 
Senior outside hitter Lauren Galvin spikes the ball past defenders. (Eli Andersen/The Crest)
Senior outside hitter Lauren Galvin led the St. Thomas volleyball team with 23 of the team’s season-high 64 kills against Oral Roberts University in a 3-1 victory for their final match of the season Saturday at Schoenecker Arena.
The Tommies (18-10, 10-6 Summit League), nearly managed a sweep as a push led by Galvin and sophomore outside hitter Ellie Gustafson put up five unanswered points to bring the team back from a 20-14 deficit in the ORU-dominated second set. Senior outside hitter Trinity Freeman ultimately held the Tommies off with two kills and an ace to help the Golden Eagles (4-23, 2-12 Summit League) escape the set with a 27-25 win.
“We knew they were going to be a tough out,” St. Thomas coach Thanh Pham said. “They’re fighting just as hard as any other team out there, but for us, we just had to play our game, stay composed and we knew good things would happen.”
Coming into her final week with Tommie volleyball, Galvin’s feelings weren’t all nostalgic. She was only 23 kills away from a career milestone of 1,000 ahead of St. Thomas’ match against the University of South Dakota on Thursday, and 23 was exactly what she got. This made her the first player in the team’s Division I history to do so.
“That’s something I’ve been wanting to reach my whole career, so it was so awesome to do it while I was here, and it was great to get it done on that Thursday rather than having to worry about getting it done today,” Galvin said.
If Galvin was concerned solely with record-setting, though, it didn’t show on Saturday. She matched Thursday’s kills for a whopping 0.380 hitting percentage, and her presence on the court accounted for a hard-hitting 25.5 points — over a quarter of the 100 that the team scored.
“‘Powerhouse’ doesn’t describe it,” Pham said. “She was our go-to, especially towards the end of the season here; she has just grown as a person, and I couldn’t be prouder of her … for Lauren to get 46 kills in the last two matches is incredible.”
The second set was an in-your-face competition at the net that saw multiple blocks from junior middle blocker Megan Wetter, sometimes multiple in one point. Wetter said that the team’s focus on their fundamentals was what allowed them to be versatile in some of their more aggressive rallies.
“In those moments that’s where I feel like it’s best, when we need the biggest momentum, is in those blocks and kills, whatever it is. So it was really fun,” Wetter said.
While Tommie momentum helped the team pull away late in the first and third sets, the Golden Eagles held on by a couple-point margin in the fourth set before hits from Galvin and redshirt first-year Addie Schmotzer helped put the match away.
The win leaves the Tommies’ conference ranking uncertain: if South Dakota loses their games to Omaha on Saturday night and South Dakota State on Nov. 19 — both of whom are above South Dakota in the standings — the teams will tie for third.
Either way, Pham doesn’t conflate the season’s success with conference placement.
“We’ve done our job,” Pham said. “We’ve controlled what we can control, and I just wish all the Summit League teams the best. So on that end of it, if it happens, it’s great; if it’s not, it won’t affect us one way or another.”
St. Thomas celebrated its parents with roses given out before the match, but the biggest bouquets were reserved for its four Tommie seniors afterwards. Galvin, middle blocker Lander Friederichs, outside hitter Libby Mattila and defensive specialist Payton Willman were each honored with their own commemorative video, shown on the big screen amidst teary celebration.
“We were like, ‘It’s a normal game; nothing’s different. Emotions after … it’s all business right now.’ After the game, I think it’s so nice to just be with everyone and see everyone here and get to reminisce on the last four years,” Galvin said.
The four seniors remaining out of their initial group of 11 — the program’s first DI class — have had a unique experience through the ups and downs of the pandemic, Galvin said, but seeing their impact on the current team has made the challenge worthwhile.
“I can definitely say that they were the right people for our team,” Pham said. “It doesn’t mean that they always started or always played, but definitely their character and how hard they work was instrumental in the growth that our program has made over the last four years.”
The Tommies announced the signing of six new recruits on Wednesday for National Signing Day. However, Pham said his hopes for next season rest largely on the consistency of the current group.
“I think our seniors have laid a great foundation of how to practice, how to approach being a DI athlete, and that’ll leak out to our incoming kids, and we hope that they learn at a faster rate,” Pham said. “So, again, looking forward to next year, but (we) really want to celebrate this year.”
Kevin Lynch can be reached at lync1832@stthomas.edu.