Volleyball 10/27/04 -- St. Thomas 3, Augsburg 0 (30-22, 30-20, 30-24)

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (10/27/04) -- Aime Lee Aschenbeck (Sr., Long Lake, Minn./Orono HS) led all players with 15 kills and hit .583 with two blocks (one solo), leading the University of St. Thomas to a three-game sweep over host Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference volleyball match Wednesday night at Si Melby Hall.

Erika Wetzel (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park HS) and Rachelle Dosch (So., Anoka, Minn.) each converted double-doubles for the Tommies, now 16-12 overall and 8-3 in MIAC play. Wetzel had 13 kills and 15 digs, while Dosch had 13 kills and 12 digs.

Billie Painschab (Jr., Howard Lake, Minn./Howard Lake-Waverly HS) led Augsburg with 10 kills and a block. Augsburg finished its season at 9-16 overall, 1-10 in MIAC play, dropping its sixth match in a row to close the season.

St. Thomas hit .321 as a team, with just 15 errors and 60 kills in 140 attempts. Meanwhile, Augsburg hit just .106 (32 kills, 19 errors in 123 attempts).

Aschenbeck had seven kills in eight attempts with no errors (.875) in the first game, as the Tommies used an 11-3 run to take a commanding 28-18 lead, en route to the first-game victory. Aschenbeck had four kills in the run.

Another late-game run gave the Tommies the second-game win, as the Tommies closed the game outscoring Augsburg 11-4. Wetzel hit .429 in the second game, converting eight kills in 14 attempts with just two errors.

St. Thomas jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the final game and did not allow Augsburg to cut the advantage under three points the rest of the way. Dosch led the Tommies with six kills in the final game.

Kelly Fitzpatrick (Fr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn./St. Agnes HS) had five kills, two aces, two blocks and 14 digs for the Tommies, while Aly McConnell (Fr., Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska HS) had nine digs and two aces. Sarah Rainey (So., Stewartville, Minn.) had 32 assists, with Maria Spencer (Fr., Perham, Minn.) added 17 assists.

Kristy Larson * (Sr., Pine Island, Minn.), playing her final match in an Augsburg uniform, had eight kills and four blocks. Larson is the lone senior on the Augsburg roster this season.

Linnea Evans * (Jr., Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo HS) had seven kills, 14 digs, a service ace and two blocks for the Auggies. Tina Quick (Fr., Blaine, Minn./Centennial HS) had 10 digs and a service ace, while Alexis Johnson (Jr., Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul HS) had 28 assists and 10 digs for her ninth assist-dig double-double of the season.

In spite of the six losses in a row to end the season, Augsburg finished its second season under head coach Cathy Skinner with more victories (nine) than the previous two seasons combined (six).

St. Thomas concludes its regular season this weekend (10/29-30) at the Wisconsin-River Falls Halloween Classic, and will compete in the MIAC postseason playoffs next week.