Fresh off a stellar 20 wins last season, The University of St. Thomas Volleyball team is excited to release its 2023 Fall Schedule. With 29 total matches on deck, the Celts will continue their quest for their first SCAC title. 

A Schedule for the Mighty

Right off the bat, the Celts will kick off the 2023 season at home against non-conference foe Letourneau on September 1st. This will lead to the opening weekend during which St. Thomas will face the Yellowjackets again on September 2nd. After that, the Celts will face ASC Champion Texas-Dallas in an early-season test on September 5th. Following that, the team will compete at the ETBU Tiger Invitational. St. Thomas will face four regional foes to help bolster their resume at this highly anticipated tournament. After that, it only gets more competitive as the Celts will travel to California for the Cal-Lutheran Invitational on September 15th-16th. St. Thomas will face highly touted Cal Lutheran and La-Verne at that tournament to prepare them for SCAC play.

The Celts finished with a program-best seven wins in SCAC play last season. This season, though, St. Thomas will be tested early with National Runner-up Trinity University on opening weekend. On their path to a conference championship, they will also face other nationally recognized programs, including Colorado College, Texas Lutheran, and Southwestern. Texas Lutheran and Southwestern will take on the Celts at the JAAC on September 29th, 30th, and November 3rd.

A Balanced Attack 

The Celts will return Sophomore Audrey Cataline plus Seniors Trinity Atkins and Ashlynne Fitzgerald to lead their offensive attack. Cataline played in all 31 matches last season and notched 320.5 total points. She also ranked first on the team in kills per set at 2.25, and service aces with 63. Atkins was also a consistent threat to the Celts on the outside. In her 29 games of action, she recorded 232.5 total points including 209 total kills. Fitzgerald joined Atkins as a pin and is second among returners in hitting percentage at .239. She also was fourth on the team in kills with 184. 

Defensively, the Celts will have threats in the back row and at the net. In the back row, the Celts will be anchored by a pair of Juniors in Ally Peters and Kara Spice. Spice led the Celts with 307 digs and Peters was not far behind at 288. Both helped St. Thomas sit atop the SCAC in opponent-hitting percentage at just .117. Then at the net, senior Laynee Beam will take her middle blocker position returning 163 total points and leading all returners with 60 blocks.   

Head Coach and UST Alumna Keanne Burt '10  will return for her tenth season leading UST Volleyball. Coming off their best record in the NCAA era, the program brought in many new recruits, five freshmen from the Houston area and one from California, plus one transfer to help bolster the roster. 

"We are returning a strong core with players in all positions," Head Coach Keanne Burt affirmed. They had a great off-season, so I'm excited to see our returning student-athletes lead this fall. "We also have a solid group of newcomers that are chomping at the bit to compete for court time. I know they will mesh easily into the team culture, so I'm eager to see how we put it all together!" 

The first serve for Volleyball is at home on September 1st against LeTourneau at 6 PM. For the full schedule, click here!