WAVERLY, Iowa — It was a battle of unbeatens — and virtual mirror images of each other — when the Saint Mary's University volleyball team squared off against Nebraska Wesleyan to open the second day of the Wartburg Invitational Saturday morning.
Both teams entered the contest boasting 6-1 overall records, and both had opened the two-day tournament with a pair of wins — the first a 3-0 victory and the second a 3-2 triumph.
When the dust settled, however, the showdown was more like a battle of David vs. Goliath — and David didn't have a slingshot.
Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) hammered 15 kills and was one of four SMU players with 10 or more kills, as the Cardinals extended their winning streak to seven straight with a 3-0 (29-27, 25-22, 25-22) victory over NWU.
The Cardinals then completed their second 4-0 tournament run in as many weeks — and pushed that winning streak to eight — dropping Loras 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 15-25, 25-22).
“What a weekend,” said SMU coach Mike Lester, who collected his 200th collegiate coaching win with Friday's 3-0 victory over Wartburg. “I thought we played very well last weekend in going 4-0 (at the SMU Sugar Loaf Classic), but we played even better this weekend — this was an impressive 4-0.”
Against NWU, Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) and Courtney Runge (St. James, Minn.) each chipped in 12 kills for the Cardinals — who have not lost since opening the season with a 3-1 setback at Viterbo. Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.) added 10 kills and Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) dished out 45 assists. Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn.) finished with a team-best 22 digs, with Runge adding 17.
Runge — who was named the tournament's MVP — followed up her 12-kill, 17-dig effort against NWU with a 15-kill, 13-dig showing against Loras, while Mate chipped in 13 kills, 15 digs and two blocks. Cherwinka had her second straight 40-plus assist performance with 44 assists vs. the Duhawks and Rasmussen collected a team-best 20 digs.
“Defensively, today was the best we've played all year,” said Lester, whose team will take its eight-game winning streak into Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener at home against Augsburg. “Our offense has been pretty solid all year, but defensively we haven't had that consistency — until today.
“Hopefully we can continue that as we get into conference play.”
