Match Summary

WINONA, Minn. — heading into the season, all the talk about the Saint Mary's University volleyball team centered around the fact that the Cardinals returned their entire starting lineup — veterans were going to lead the way.

Yet, it was three relative newcomers who stole the show Wednesday evening as the Cardinals opened their season with a 3-0 nonconference win over Luther at the SMU gym.

Lisa Engdahl (North Branch, Minn.), Beth Schubert (Naperville, Ill.) and Megan Roesler (St. Paul, Minn.) — reserves for most the season a year ago — earned the starting nod against the Norse and didn't disappoint. Engdahl finished with a career-high 10 kills, while Schubert added seven kills and hit an impressive .303, and Roesler chipped in seven kills and a team-high three blocks.

"That was a good win for us," said SMU coach Mike Lester, whose team extended its home winning streak to 17 straight with the 30-25, 30-22, 30-27 victory. "We played well at times, and at other times, we didn't play quite up to where we need to be. But overall, I was happy — it was a good win."

As for his three "stars," Lester could not be more pleased.

"I was excited to see how Beth, Lisa and Megan would do," admitted Lester. "They hadn't been put in that position before, and I was eager to see how they would handle it."

And handle it they did.

"All three did an outstanding job — everyone did," Lester said. "When we passed well, our offense was great. But we didn't pass well all the time, and that's something we need to work on. It's good to get that first win under our belts, that's for sure."

The win wasn't quite as easy as the final 3-0 score indicates, however.

After breezing through Games 1 and 2, SMU fell behind 5-0 to start Game 3, as Luther's Cate Dahlberg served five straight points – including four consecutive aces.

The Norse (0-1) held a 14-6 lead, before the Cardinals began clawing back. SMU tied the game, 25-25 — the first tie since 0-0 — then took the lead for good, 26-25, on an ace by Tessa Stranik (Eatonville, Wash.)

"I wasn't too worried — I knew we could play through that tough start," said Lester, who got a team- and match-high 15 kills from Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.), and also saw Stranik dish out 38 assists. "Obviously, you never like to fall behind 5-0 to start a match, but we never panicked and just continued to play.

"That's what we have to do if we are going to be successful — work our way through the tough times."