2024 Summit League Preseason Poll announced - The University of St. Thomas (2024)

Senior Lauren Galvin, junior Ella Voegele named Tommies’ Players to Watch

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The University of St. Thomas volleyball team was picked to finish eighth in the 2024 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll, as determined by the conference's head coaches.

The Tommies accumulated 17 points, placing them ahead of Oral Roberts. Omaha, the reigning Summit League tournament champion, was selected to finish first with 64 points and eight first-place votes. Denver followed in second with 51 points and one first-place vote, while South Dakota rounded out the top three with 49 points.

Senior outside hitter Lauren Galvin and junior libero/defensive specialist Ella Voegele have been named the Tommies' Players to Watch for the 2024 season.

Galvin, from Woodbury, Minn., participated in the first three matches of 2023 before a season-ending injury. She averaged 2.83 kills and 1.50 digs per set at the UIC Tournament, including 13 kills and seven digs against Lindenwood. In 2022, Galvin led the Tommies with 3.12 kills per set, ranking 10th in the league, and contributed 3.49 points per set, placing her 11th in the Summit.

Voegele, hailing from Plymouth, Minn., set the program's Division I single-season records for digs (432) and digs per set (4.36), finishing second in the Summit League in both categories. She also set the program's Division I single-match record with 33 digs in four sets against Oral Roberts, achieving the highest digs per set mark (8.25) and earning the Tommies' first-ever Summit League Defensive Peak Performer of the Week honor.

The 2024 season kicks off on August 30, with eight of the Summit League's nine teams in action. The Tommies will begin their campaign on Friday at the CEFCU Invitational in Peoria, Ill., with matches against Southern Indiana at 10 a.m. and Bradley at 6:30 p.m. They will conclude the tournament on Saturday with a 1 p.m. match against DePaul.

Head Coach Thanh Pham enters his 22nd season leading the program. His tenure is the longest among the nine Summit League head coaches at their respective schools.

Despite injuries to the Tommies' top returning attacker and a middle blocker from the 2022 Summit League All-Freshman Team, St. Thomas went on to set DI era bests with seven total wins and three league wins in 2023, nearly doubling its overall win total from a season ago.

2024 Summit League Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll

Did You Know?
- The bulk of the Tommies' youth has moved up to upperclassmen status on a roster thatfeatures four seniors, nine juniors, four sophom*ores and two freshmen, including one redshirt freshman.
- St. Thomas' 2024 season-opening opponents combined for 42 wins a yearago, including a 15-win Southern Indiana team to begin the season and an 18-win DePaul team to close the CEFCU Invitational on Saturday.
- The Tommies will host the Tommie Invitational Volleyball Tournament for the second season as Tarleton State (entering its first season as a full member of NCAA Division I), Valparaiso and Northern Illinois are set to play at Schoenecker Arena.
- St. Thomas and Minnesota are scheduled to play for the second time since 2021 with the Tommies and Gophers set to play at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 10 in Maturi Pavilion. Minnesota enters the season ranked 18th in the AVCA Preseason Poll and was picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll.
- St. Thomas opens its Summit League schedule Thursday, Sept. 26 with a home contest against North Dakota State, one of 11 home matches for the Toms this season.
- The non-conference schedule includes matches against opponents from eight different conferences: Missouri Valley (3), Big Ten (2), Horizon (2), Big East (1), MAC (1), NEC (1), Ohio Valley (1), and WAC (1).

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-- St. Thomas Athletics --