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Match Summary vs. UW-Stevens Point

LA CROSSE, Wis. — For the first time this season, the Saint Mary's University volleyball team found itself staring at a deficit after the opening set of their nonconference match against UW-Stevens Point Wednesday.

After picking up first-set wins against all four teams it faced in rolling to a 4-0 record at the Elmhurst Tournament last weekend, the Cardinals came up short in the first set against the Pointers, falling 25-23.

Which turned out to be bad news for the Pointers, as SMU rebounded with three straight wins — 25-12, 27-25, 25-21 — to beat UW-SP and run its season-opening winning streak to five straight.

Courtney Runge (St. James, Minn.) and Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) each collected eight kills for the Cardinals, while Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.) and Jessica Larson (Pine Island, Minn.) each chippedin seven. Brtitany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) — SMU's representative on the Elmhurst Tournament all-tournament team — dished out 29 assists, whiel Lindsey Legett (Sartell, Minn.) posted a team-high 18 digs.

In the Cardinals' second match of the evening, SMU picked up a 3-1 win over NAIA Division II Viterbo. Gardner recorded a match-high 16 kills and added 16 digs, while reigning MIAC Player of the Week Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) added nine kills and four blocks. Because Viterbo is not an NCAA Division III school — and because the match was played under NAIA rules — the results of that match do not count in the Cardinals' overall record.

The Cardinals open their home season on Frdiay, taking on Marian and the University of Chicago during the first day of the two-day Jefferson's Sugar Loaf Classic.