Match Summary vs. Buena Vista / Match Summary vs. Wartburg

WAVERLY, Iowa — For the Saint Mary's University volleyball team, Friday's streak-snapping 3-0 loss to Nebraska Wesleyan during the opening day of the Wartburg Invitational turned out to be nothing more than speed bump for the hard-charging Cardinals.

SMU, which had its five-match winning streak snapped with Friday's loss to the unbeaten Prairie Wolves, returned to its winning ways on Saturday, sweeping Buena Vista 3-0, then knocking off host Wartburg 3-1 to finish the two-day tournament with a 3-1 mark.

“It was a very good weekend for us,” said SMU coach Mike Lester. “We played very well in both matches on Friday, and turned around and played extremely well again today.”

Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.) led the Cardinals' attack in their opener against Buena Vista, collecting a match-high 12 kills, while hitting .385. Rachel Monterastelli (Wonder Lake, Ill.) dished out 37 assists and Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn.) talled 14 digs.

In their win over Wartburg, Mate and Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) were two of four Cardinals to post 10 or more kills, each banging out 13. Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) chipped in 13 kills, while Carissa Hahn (Hutchinson, Minn.) finished with 12. Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) finished with a career-high 49 assists and Rasmussen recorded 23 digs.

Gardner and Mate finished the four-match tournament with 54 and 50 kills, respectively, while Kujak hit a team-best .492 — including a whopping .667 against Wartburg. Assimos collected 105 assists and Rasmussen picked up 76 digs

“You have to give a lot of credit (for the Cardinals' success) to our two setters,” Lester said of Monterastelli and Assimos. “They both did a great job — Rachel set the first match (against Buena Vista) and Lexi the second (vs. Wartburg), and in both matches we hit over .300, which tells me they both did a great job of running the offense."

The Cardinals, who move to 7-2 overall, kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, traveling to Augsburg for a 7 p.m. match against the Auggies.