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Game Summary / GameDay Online

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — Last Saturday, the Saint Mary's University volleyball team enjoyed life as the sweeper — as the Cardinals rolled to back-to-back 3-0 victories over Coe and Bethany Lutheran during the final day of the Luther Invitational.

Tuesday evening, SMU returned to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play against Bethel — and the Cardinals got a taste of their own medicine.

And it left a rather sour taste in the mouth of SMU coach Mike Lester.

"We came out and played pretty well in the first game, but after that, everything just seemed to fall apart," said Lester, whose team was swept by the Royals, 3-0 (30-25, 30-14, 30-20). "It's pretty disappointing, because we came into this match playing very well. We just weren't able to match the intensity that we had (last Saturday)."

Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals, collecting nine kills, while hitting .467 (9-for-15). Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.) chipped in eight kills, while Theresa Perrini (Fairway, Kan.) added 22 digs and Rachel Monterastelli (Wonder Lake, Ill.) tallied 19 assists.

"This is a big (conference) week for us," said Lester, whose team lost to one of the two MIAC unbeatens in the Royals, returns to action Friday and Saturday, playing host to two more of the conference's elite in Saint Benedict and Concordia. "We've got to put this match behind us and try and get ready for this weekend. Saint Benedict and Concordia are both very good teams, and we are going to need to play much better — and much more consistent — than we did tonight."