ST. PAUL, Minn. — It took the Saint Mary's University volleyball team a set to get warmed up, but once they did, it was smooth sailing Saturday afternoon against Hamline.
The Cardinals sleep-walked through the opening set of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against the Pipers, falling 25-23.
That loss, however, was the wake-up call SMU needed, as the Cardinals had little trouble winning the next three sets en route to a 3-1 victory — and their first conference win of the season.
“It took us a little while to wake up, but once we got into our system, we played very well,” said SMU coach
Mike Lester. “We did not play well in that first set, but seemed to come to life in the second and really played well after that.”
Jess Larson (Pine Island, Minn.) and Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) led the way for the Cardinals, who dominated the Pipers in the final three sets, not allowing Hamline more than 18 points in any of the three sets. The duo each collected a team-best 11 kills, with Larson hitting .417, while Kujak added nine blocks to her 10-kill effort. Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) chipped in 10 kills, with Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn.) adding 14 digs and Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) tallying 40 assists.
“You have to give credit to Jess and Amy for this win, they played outstanding and really lit a fire under the rest of the team,” said Lester, whose team improved to 1-2 in the MIAC and 11-5 overall with the win. “The key for us right now is that we have to do a better job of playing at that high level — like we did in the last three sets — from the get-go.
“I'm glad we were able to come back after the slow start, but those slow starts can come back to haunt you if you're not careful.”
