Box Score  | GameDay Preview

ST. PAUL, Minn. — There were plenty of streaks on the line when the Saint Mary's University volleyball team took to the court for Tuesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Macalester.

There was a run of eight straight Set 1 wins — not to mention victories in the opening set in 11 of the Cardinals' 12 wins.

There was a run of 14 straight matches without having a contest extended to a fifth and deciding set.

And, of course, there was the school record-tying 11-match winning streak.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, when the Scots' Hannah Rehak delivered the match-ending fourth-set kill, two of SMU's streaks were no longer — the most important two.

The Cardinals rallied from deficits of 15-8 and 16-12, then secured the Set 1 win by securing back-to-back points to break a 25-25 tie en route to a 27-25 victory.

That, however, would be the bright spot for the Cardinals, as Macalester rattled off three straight victories to put an end to SMU's winning streak with the 3-1 conference victory.

"It was not one of our better performances — but give Macalester credit, we couldn't stop them," said SMU coach Mike Lester. "Offensively, Macki (Fadness) and Mary (Nordick) played well, but we struggled everywhere else."

After their big rally to win Set 1, SMU was again in a rallying mood late in the second set, erasing a 20-18 Macalester advantage to take a 24-21 lead — only to have the Scots turn the tables with a 28-26 come-from-behind win of their own to even the match at 1-1.

Neither team would lead by more than two points in the third set, with Macalester escaping with the 25-23 victory — a performance the Scots would duplicate in Set 4 to seal the win.

Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) hit an impressive .615 in collecting a team-high 17 kills, while Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) and Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) each chipped in 15 kills. Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) — named MIAC Setter of the Week earlier in the day — dished out a season-high 47 assists and 10 digs against the Scots, while Jordan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) recorded a team-best 14 digs.

Macalester's Laura Avena and Brook Hunter each owned a match-high 22 kills, with Kasey McMaster tallying 59 assists and Cora Trout finished with 24 digs.

The Cardinals (1-1 MIAC, 12-3 overall) are back in action this weekend, as SMU hosts nationally ranked Saint Benedict in a 7 p.m. MIAC match on Friday, before entertaining Concordia at 3 p.m. on Saturday.