Cardinals complete perfect home run

Donny Nadeau, SMU Sports Information Office

Match Summary

WINONA, Minn. — Despite their 16-4 overall record and their impressive 5-1 mark in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, something had been missing for the Saint Mary's University volleyball team.

Consistency.

Wednesday evening, in their final home match of the season, the Cardinals were consistent all right — just ask Macalester.

The Cardinals held the Scots to 22 points in each of the first two games, then held off a late Scot rally in the third game to complete the three-game MIAC sweep with a 30-28 win.

"All season, we have been winning matches and playing hard, but our play was always up-and-down," said SMU coach Mike Lester, whose team improved to 6-1 in the MIAC and 17-4 overall. "We weren't getting the consistency we need to have if we are going to accomplish the goals we've set for ourselves.

"Tonight, we showed that consistency," Lester continued. "Macalester is a very good team — they took (league-leading) St. Thomas to five games (last Wednesday), and they've been recognized by the (AVCA poll) voters, so we knew how important it was for us to give a consistent effort."

Which is exactly what the Cardinals did.

Led by Kirstan Rouzer (Comstock, Wis.) and Tracy Koertgen (Crystal Lake, Ill.), the Cardinals pulled away from the Scots in each of the first two games, leading by as many as 12 in Game 1, and scoring 12 of the final 16 points in Game 2. The Scots hung tough in the final game, but SMU managed to break a 28-28 tie with back-to-back points to seal the win — and complete a perfect run through its home schedule.

"To finish 10-0 at home is something this team really wanted to accomplish — and it's something no other SMU team has ever been able to accomplish," said Lester, whose team closes out its regular-season with 10 road matches. "We got some clutch performances from a number of people tonight, and I really felt like this was one of our stronger performances.

"Hopefully we can keep that consistency going as we head into the final couple weeks of the season."

Rouzer finished with a match-high 17 kills, while Koertgen chipped in 16 kills and Tessa Stranik (Eatonville, Wash.) dished out 39 assists and tallied 19 digs.

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