Match Summary
WINONA, Minn. — Mike Lester admitted before the start of Tuesday's MIAC Tournament opener against Concordia that he was a little nervous about how his Saint Mary's University volleyball team would perform.
And with good reason.
After all, not only had his Cardinals struggled a bit in beating Gustavus (3-2) and Viterbo (3-2) to close out the regular season, but the Cardinals had already beaten the Cobbers rather handily this season.
The Cardinals quickly put Lester's fears to rest, however, as they cruised to a 3-0 (30-17, 30-16, 30-25) victory at the SMU Gym.
"When the players came out on the floor before the game, I knew they were ready to play," said Lester, whose team will take its seven-match winning streak to Bethel on Friday for an 8 p.m. showdown with the No. 1-seeded Royals in the second of two tournament semifinal-round games. "We talked a little before the game about how much time they have put into this season, and how this (the MIAC Tournament) is when that time and effort start paying off.
"It's never easy to beat a team twice," continued Lester, whose Cardinals bounced the Cobbers in much the same fashion on Sept. 22, winning 30-18, 30-22, 30-25. "But they weren't about to have any kind of a letdown. They were focused and ready to go — everyone played a great match."
If everyone played great, than SMU's Leslie Nicholls (Hastings, Minn.) and Rhonda Thibault (Faribault, Minn.) played awesome.
Thibualt finished with a match-high 17 kills, hit an astonishing .593 and collected a team-leading six service aces. Nicholls, meanwhile, tallied seven kills and added nine digs and three aces.
"Rhonda was unstoppable," Lester said of his senior middle hitter — one of three seniors, along with Nicholls and Maisa Rouzer (Comstock, Wis.), playing in their final collegiate home match. "And Leslie did such a phenomenal job of passing and hitting."
Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.) chipped in 14 kills, while Melissa Cowan (Algonquin, Ill.) finsihed with 45 assists as SMU improved to 16-12 overall.
