Match Summary
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team got its third shot at a ranked opponent Wednesday evening at the SMU Gym, and this time around, the Cardinals' weren't about to let the opportunity slip through their fingers.
Led by Kirstan Rouzer (Comstock, Wis.) and Molli Dant (Forest City, Iowa), the Cardinals rallied from a 1-0 deficit to beat No. 20 UW-La Crosse 3-1 — 24-30, 30-23, 30-20, 30-24).
"This was a huge win, no question about that," said SMU coach Mike Lester, whose team had dropped 3-2 decisions to nationally ranked opponents Southwestern and Bethel earlier this season. "La Crosse is a very good team, and they came out and really took it to us in that first game. But we were able to regroup, make some adjustments and get the job done.
"In our first two matches (against ranked opponents), we had our chances to win, but didn't get the job done in the fifth game," continued Lester , whose team handed UW-L just its second loss — both coming to MIAC opponents. "We were bound and determined not to let this get to a fifth game."
After a sluggish start in which SMU hit just .034 in the first game and .049 in the second, the Cardinals took control in the third game, racing out to a 20-10 lead en route to the 30-20 win and a 2-1 lead.
"That third game was the difference," said Lester. "To go from hitting .034 and .049 in those first two games to hit .429 in the third and .250 in the fourth, that says a lot about the makeup of our team. Those adjustments (on the offensive side) weren't made by (the coaches) — our players did that on their own."
Not only did the Cardinals have to overcome a poor offensive night, but they also had to play the fourth game without junior standout Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.), who injured her knee early in Game 4 and did not return.
"'It would have been easy for us to fold up after we lost Ashley, but they didn't," said Lester, who's uncertain of Dingels' status for this weekend's River City Classic in Dubuque, Iowa. "Everyone stepped their game up (once Dingels got hurt), and that was nice to see."
Rouzer finished with a match-high 20 kills, while also adding 21 digs and three aces. Dant chipped in 12 kills and eight digs, with Tracy Koertgen (Crystal Lake, Ill.) recording 11 digs and a match-high five aces. Tessa Stranik (Eatonville, Wash.) dished out 49 assists.
