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WINONA, Minn. — If the Saint Mary's University volleyball team was feeling any jet lag following their trip to Beverly, Mass., last weekend, they certainly didn't show it Wednesday evening.

The Cardinals kicked off their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season in impressive fashion at the SMU Gym, cruising to a 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-22) victory over Macalester.

“It was a good match for us,” said SMU coach Mike Lester, whose squad was coming off a 3-1 showing at the Endicott (Mass.) Tournament last weekend. “I don't think we were as consistent as we need to be, but overall, I was very pleased with our performance.”

Kara Grant (Peosta, Iowa) led the way for the Cardinals, collecting a match-high 10 kills, while also hitting .381. Along with her team-leading 23 assists, Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) also chipped in eight kills on 15 attempts, while adding six digs and two blocks. Kaylee Bunne (LeRoy, Minn.) served up five of the team's nine service aces, while Erika Hurley (Chatfield, Minn.) and Cathy Rennie (Pine Island, Minn.) recorded 12 and 10 digs, respectively.

The Cardinals made things look easy in the opening set, rolling to the nine-point, 25-16 victory, but the Scots weren't about to roll over, holding leads of 23-21 and 24-23, before SMU rattled off three straight points to take the second set, 26-24.

Macalester had the Cardinals on their heels in the third set, grabbing an early five-point, 8-3 advantage. SMU pulled even at 12-12, and the set would be tied five more times, the last 20-20, before the Cardinals pulled away for the 25-22 match-clinching win.

“It's always nice to get your conference season off on the right foot,” said Lester. “There are certainly some things we still need to work on, but it's a start.”