NORTHFIELD, Minn. — A year ago, the Saint Mary's University volleyball team entered the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament as the No. 6 seed, and promptly knocked off third-seeded Saint Benedict in a thrilling five-set match.
This year, the Cardinals once again entered the conference tournament as the No. 6 seed.
And once again they had visions of knocking off the tournament's third seed — this time around in the form of St. Olaf.
The Oles, however, had other ideas, as St. Olaf made quick work of SMU, eliminating the Cardinals in three straight sets, 25-23, 25-21, 25-14 Tuesday evening.
Jessica Larson (Pine Island, Minn.) collected a team-leading nine kills for the Cardinals, while
Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.) and
Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) chipped in eight and seven kills, respectively.
Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) dished out 32 assists, while
Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn.) finished with a team-leading 12 digs.
The Cardinals, who fall to 21-9 overall, will now have to wait and see if their 21 wins and No. 5 ranking in the latest NCAA Central Region poll will be enough to earn them an at-large berth into the NCAA Division III National Tournament. The entire national tournament field will be announced on Monday.
