Match Summary

WINONA, Minn. — The script that Saint Mary's University volleyball coach Mike Lester had written out in his mind was of his team getting off to a quick start — and riding that momentum — when they took to the floor for Friday's opening match of the Jefferson's/SMU Sugar Loaf Classic.

Maranatha, however, had other ideas.

Oh, sure, the Cardinals got off to a quick start, rattling off wins of 30-25 and 30-27 in the first two games of the teams' opening-round match.

It's just that SMU wasn't able to ride that wave of early-match momentum, however, as Maranatha won the next three games, 30-28, 30-20 and 15-13, to knock off the host Cardinals.

And things didn't get any easier for SMU in the second round, as the Cardinals were pressed into a second straight five-game match against UW-Superior — only this time, they were able to write a much better ending.

The Cardinals rallied from a two-games-to-one deficit to beat the Yellowjackets 3-2 and finish the opening day of the tournament 1-1.

"I was really happy to see us bounce back from that first match," admitted SMU coach Mike Lester. "I think everyone was disappointed with the way we played (against Maranatha), and to be honest, I really didn't know how we would respond (against UW-Superior).

And once we got down 2-1, it would have been very easy for them to pack it in — but they didn't, they battled right to the end and were rewarded for that."

After breezing to those first two wins vs. Maranatha, the Cardinals dug themselves out of 24-15 and 27-21 holes to knot Game 2 at 28-28, only to have the Lady Crusaders rattle off the final two points to extend the match. Maranatha jumped out early and never looked back in Game 4, and the two teams traded leads in the fifth and deciding game, with Maranatha breaking a 13-13 tie with back-to-back points to ice the win.

The Cardinals were dominant early-match selves against UW-Superior as well, cruising to a 30-20 Game 1 win. But the Yellowjackets picked up wins in Games 2 (30-28) and 3 (30-18) — and led 28-27 in Game 4, before SMU regrouped.

"Superior is a very good team, and for us to come and play the way we did … I'm happy with that," said Lester. "There's no doubt we could have easily come away 2-0 after the first day, but to bounce back and get the job done in that second match was nice to see."