Match Summary

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — It's hard for Saint Mary's University volleyball coach Mike Lester feel bad about his Cardinals' performance in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener against Bethel Wednesday evening.

After all, the Cardinals put themselves in position to win all three of the games they played against the Royals.

Problem was, when they needed a key point here or there, the Cardinals came up empty each timed, as Bethel outlasted SMU 3-0, 30-28,, 30-26, 30-24.

"We played at a very high level all match," said Lester, whose team dropped its second straight in falling to 4-7 overall. "The match was close the whole way — we just weren't able to get those key points when we needed them most."

Pam Stanton (Mundelein, Ill.) paced the Cardinals' offensive attack, collecting 20 kills and seven digs, while reigning MIAC setter/libero of the week Theresa Perrini (Fairway, Kan.) followed up her stellar performance at the SMU Sugar Loaf Classic with a 29-dig effort against the Royals. Breanna Benham (Deer River, Wis.) also turned in a sold performance against Bethel, dishing out 37 assists and adding 11 digs.

"I'm pleased with the effort we put forth," said Lester, whose team is now off until Tuesday, when the Cardinals will host Macalester in another MIAC match. "Every game could have gone either way, we just weren't able to get the ball to bounce our way. We had leads in both the second and third games, but each time, we let (Bethel) get on a four- or five-point run and we weren't able to recover.

"We played well enough to win, we just weren't able to get the job done."