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Game Summary / GameDay Online

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team entered Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against 10th-ranked St. Thomas well-rested, having not played since a 3-1 victory over St. Olaf a week ago.

And the rest — not to mention a switch in formations — seemed to do the Cardinals good, as SMU opened the match  with a 34-32 Game 1 victory.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that win did more than just give SMU a 1-0 advantage in the best-of-5 match, it also woke a sleeping giant, as the Tommies rattled off three straight wins — not allowing more than 22 points in any of three — en route to the 3-1 conference victory at the SMU Gym.

"It's hard to be real disappointed with a loss like this, because I thought we played at a very high level tonight," said SMU coach Mike Lester. "The biggest difference in the match was, we didn't play well enough — consistent enough — to beat a team as good as St. Thomas.

"There's a reason they are ranked No. 10 in the country — they are a very good team," added Lester, who changed to a 6-2 formation to open the match, something UST wasn't expecting from the Cardinals. "We through a different look at (St. Thomas) — something they weren't expecting — and they made some adjustments after that opening game, and we weren't quite as sharp (in Games 2, 3 and 4),"

The first game proved to be a game of give-and-take, as both team built small leads, only to have the other turn the tables. Neither team led by more than four (UST at 12-8) and the lead changed hands 11 times, with SMU breaking a 32-32 tie with kills by Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) and Courtney Runge (St. James, Minn.) in winning the opening game.

From there, however, it was all UST, as the Tommies scored 19 of the final 30 points to win Game 2, then used a 6-2 to run end Game 3 and never trailed after breaking a 2-2 tie in the fourth and final game.

"That first game was some of the best volleyball we've played all season," said Lester, whose team collected 24 kills in Game 1 alone. "I'm happy with the way we played — I think we again proved that we can play with the top teams in the conference. We just have to get more consistent."

Pam Stanton (Mundelin, Ill.) led the way for the SMU offense, collecting 17 kills, while Gardner added 11 and Runge finished with 10. The setting duo of Rachel Monterastelli (Wonder Lake, Ill.) and Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) accounted for 48 assists, with Monterastelli dishing out 28 and Cherwinka adding 20, while Theresa Perrini (Fairway, Kan.) posted a match-high 38 digs.

The Cardinals, who drop to 2-5 in the MIAC and 12-9 overall, step out of conference play this weekend, traveling to Westminster, Md., to take part in the McDaniel College Invitational.