Match Summary

DUBUQUE, Iowa — The teams were the same.

And so were the results.

Which was good news, and bad news, for the Saint Mary's University volleyball team.

The Cardinals opened the University of Dubuque Invitational Friday with a 3-1 victory over Clarke — the second time SMU has dropped the Crusaders by a 3-1 score this season.

That was the good news.

The bad news? The second showdown against nationally ranked St. Thomas went about as good as the first, as the Tommies rolled to a 3-0 victory.

"We played fairly well against Clarke, but we did not play well at all against St. Thomas," said Lester, whose team will close out the two-day tournament vs. Loras and the University of Dubuque on Saturday. "We got off to a slow start in both matches, but against Clarke, we were able to make some changes, regroup and get back on track.

"But we weren't as fortunate against St. Thomas — we struggled from start to finish."