Match Summary
WINONA, Minn. — It was the showdown the Saint Mary's University volleyball team had been gearing up for for weeks — a showdown with league-leading Carleton.
A win Wednesday night against the Knights — ranked 19th in the latest AVCA Top 25 — and the Cardinals would own a share of lead in the Minneesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with one match remaining.
The conference title, a season-long dream for the Cardinals, was within their grasp.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Carleton quickly turned that dream into a nightmare — and snatched that title away in the process — as the Knights cruised to a 3-0 (30-21, 30-21, 30-23) victory at the SMU Gym.
"(Carleton) took it to us, they played a phenomenal match and just beat us in every facet," said SMU coach
Mike Lester, whose team had its season-high six-match winning streak snapped. "I've said all season that when we don't pass well, we become a very vulnerable team — and tonight, we did not pass well."
In fact, the Cardinals picked the worst possible time to have an off night.
SMU, which came into the match leading the conference in attack percentage (.231), hit just .094 against the Knights.
Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.) collected a match-high 18 kills, but she could not stop the Knights alone. No other Cardinal had more than eight kills — and only five of the other 12 players who saw action, had any at all.
"We were extremely predictable tonight," explained Lester. "Ashley had 18 kills, but we also set to her 44 times — Carleton knew exactly what we were going to do, because it's the only thing that was working for us. We need to be able to pass the ball to run our offense, and tonight, we just never got it going.
"It's tough," continued Lester. "I was proud of the way we battle through the match, and I thought that third game was a pretty even game. We just struggled through those first two games."
With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 7-3 in the MIAC, eliminating the Cardinals from title contention, but keeping them in the hunt for one of the six MIAC post-season tournament spots. SMU entered the night tied with Concordia, St. Benedict and St. Thomas for second, with Gustavus — SMU's final regular-season opponent — one game back.
"It's disappointing that we missed out (on a shot at winning the regular-season title), but this team still has a lot to play for," said Lester, whose team plays host to the Gusties in another key MIAC match next Wednesday. "We can't worry any more about whose got what record — we've just got to go out and play."
