Match Summary

WINONA, Minn. — Both teams came in with 13 wins on the season.

Both were riding four-match winning streaks.

And both were a perfect 2-0 in the conference.

When the Saint Mary's University and Concordia volleyball teams squared off Friday evening at the SMU Gym, something had to give.

The Cobbers gave — and the Cardinals gladly took.

Fueled by 17-kill efforts from Kirstan Rouzer (Comstock, Wis.) and Tracy Koertgen (Crystal Lake, Ill.), the Cardinals rallied for a 27-30, 30-28, 30-26, 30-25 victory — keeping the Cardinals perfect in MIAC play.

"That was a big, big win," understated SMU coach Mike Lester, whose team has not only won five straight, but also 14 of its last 15. "We knew going in that it was going to be a battle to the end — and it was. Both teams played at a high, high level, both teams ran their offenses very well, and both teams came up with some big plays when they needed them.

"The difference was, late in the games, we were able to win some key long rallies."

Concordia dominated the opening game, leading by as many as seven, 26-19, only to have SMU rally to cut the lead to one, 28-27. That, however, was as close as the Cardinals would get before falling 30-27.

"It's always tough to drop that first game, it puts you up against the wall a bit," said Lester. "But we never panicked — we just kept playing our game. I think this team is finally starting to believe in themselves a bit, they're starting to realize that if they just keep plugging away, things will turn out all right."

The Cardinals needed to plug away in both the second and third games, as Concordia (2-1 MIAC, 14-5 overall) led 27-26 in Game 2 and 21-18 in Game 3. But down the stretch, it was the Cardinals who came up with the big swings, scoring four of the final five points to win the second game, then tallying 12 of the final 17 points in winning the third game 30-26.

"We just kept getting better as the night wore on," said Lester, whose team led by as many as five on two occasions, before settling for a 30-25 win in the decisive fourth game. "We did not play well (against Concordia) last year — tonight was a much better performance."