WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball coach Mike Lester knew his Cardinals were going to have their hands full trying to slow down high-powered Augsburg Saturday afternoon.
 
After all, the Auggies were not only coming into their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against the Cardinals ranked No. 25 in the country—but they were also coming off a thrilling, 3-2 conference victory over seventh-ranked St. Thomas.
 
And how right the Cardinal head coach was.
 
The Cardinals gave the Auggies all they could handle, but every time they seemed to gather a little momentum, Augsburg would steal it right back in handing Saint Mary's a 3-1 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
"We had our chances," Lester said. "I didn't think we played that poorly—give Augsburg credit, they came up big when they needed to."
 
Augsburg outlasted the Cardinals 25-23 in the opening set, before pushing their advantage to 2-0 with a convincing 25-18 victory in the second set. The Cardinals' offense came to life in Set 3, posting a 26-24 victory, but the Auggies used a late five-point run to go from up 17-15 to up 22-15 in cruising to a 25-19 match-clinching fourth set win.
 
Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) finished with 15 kills to lead three Cardinals in double figures—Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn.) and Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) chipped in 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) and Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) turned in 28- and 22-assist performances, with Lex Krogstad delivering a team-best 25 digs and four aces.
 
Colleen Ourada and Ashley Peper were a two-person wrecking crew for the Auggies (8-1 MIAC, 20-4 overall), delivering 19 and 16 kills, respectively. Courtney Lemke dished out 48 assists and Mackenzie Menke finished with a match-high 28 digs.
 
The Cardinals (5-4 MIAC, 17-12 overall) are back in action on Wednesday, hosting St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. conference match at the Saint Mary's Gym.