Match Summary

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — If the Saint Mary's University volleyball team was feeling an ill effects from Friday's disappointing 3-0 loss at Bethel, they certainly weren't showing it on Saturday against Augsburg.

And that was bad news for the host Auggies.

The Cardinals, led by Tracy Koertgen's (Crystal Lake, Ill.) match-high 11 kills, pushed their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record to 7-2 with a 3-0, 30-22, 30-12, 30-26 victory.

Rachel Rivers (Apple Valley, Minn.) chipped in seven kills, three aces and a team-leading 16 digs for the Cardinals, who disposed of the Auggies in just over an hour.

SMU used an 8-2 game-ending run to turn a 22-20 nailbiter into an easy Game 1 win. The Cardinals continued to dominate in Game 2, jumping out to a 10-1 lead and cruising to the lopsided 30-12 victory. In the third game, Augsburg had the upper hand early, leading 10-6, only to have the Cardinals battled back to tie the game, 17-17, then use an 8-1 run to put the game out of reach.

Tessa Stranik (Eatonville, Wash.) — who eclipsed the 1,000-assist mark for the season with the last four of her 35 assists on Friday vs. Bethel — dished out 39 assists vs. the Auggies, while Kirstan Rouzer (Comstock, Wis.) and Mollie Melton (Pine Island, Minn.) chipped in five kills each.

The Cardinals (18-5 overall) remain a game behind league-leading St. Thomas with two MIAC matches remaining. SMU travels to Carleton on Wednesday, before closing out their regular-season conference schedule at Gustavus on Oct. 29.