EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn.) enjoyed a career night in the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team's match against Northwestern (Minn.) during the opening match of the UW-Eau Claire Invitational Friday.
 
Unfortunately, Sullivan's career-best 18-kill performance—and .417 attack percentage—were not enough, as the Eagles rallied from a Set 1 loss to deal the Cardinals a 3-1 setback.
 
The Cardinals got another career-best performance in their second match of the day against UW-Eau Claire, as Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) dished out a career-high 42 assists.
 
Like Sullivan before her, however, Hanson's effort was not enough, as host UW-Eau Claire picked up back-to-back wins in the third and fourth sets to deal Saint Mary's its second straight 3-1 defeat.
 
Saint Mary's jumped out early, racing to a 25-19 Set 1 win against Northwestern (Minn.), but the Eagles answered with convincing 25-20 and 25-11 victories, before outlasting the Cardinals 26-24 in the fourth set to seal the 3-1 victory.
 
Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) joined Sullivan in double figures in kills against Northwestern (Minn.), as the junior delivered 12 kills, while Hanson delivered 27 assists and Lex Krogstad posted a team-best 16 digs.
 
UW-Eau Claire and Saint Mary's traded wins in the first two sets of their match Friday, with the Blugolds winning the opener 25-21, with the Cardinals bouncing back in Set 2 with a 25-22 triumph. From there, however, it was all UW-EC, as the Blugolds collected 25-17 and 25-16 wins in the next two sets to ice the win.
 
Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals against the Blugolds, recording 14 kills and hitting .393, while Sullivan and Molly Grover (Zumbrota, Minn.) each chipped in nine kills. Krogstad recorded her ninth 20-plus dig performance of the season, finishing with 25, while Sullivan and Jordan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) each added 13 digs.
 
The Cardinals (16-10 overall) close out tournament play on Saturday, squaring off against St. Scholastica in a 12:15 p.m. match in Eau Claire, Wis.