Match Summary

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — If the University of St. Thomas wasn't the Saint Mary's University volleyball team's most hated rival before, it probably is now.

The Tommies, who foiled any hopes the Cardinals had of defending their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory earlier this season, proved once again to be a thorn in SMU's side on Saturday, as they handed SMU a 3-1 setback in the third-place game of the MIAC Tournament.

Similar to their first meeting, the Cardinals came out smoking in the rematch, collecting a 30-27 win in Game 1. From there, however, it was all St. Thomas held the Cardinals under 23 points in each of the next three games — winning 30-21, 30-21 and 30-22 — en route to the season-ending win.

Rhonda Thibault (Faribault, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals, who closed out their season with a 16-13 overall record, collecting 17 kills and two service aces. Leslie Nicholls (Hastings, Minn.) chipped 11 digs, one block and one ace and was named the team's lone member of the all-tournament team. Melissa Cowan (Algonquin, Ill.) finished with 38 assists and 10 digs, while Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.) finished with nine kills.