WINONA, Minn. — Any hopes St. Olaf had of derailing the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team's drive to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament were blocked Wednesday evening.
 
Literally.
 
The Cardinals got six blocks from Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) and four more from Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.), as Saint Mary's locked up an MIAC post-season berth for the second straight year with a 3-0 victory over the Oles at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
"That was a big win for us," understated Saint Mary's coach Mike Lester. "I thought we did a very nice job tonight—we got some great individual performances, and everyone had a hand in getting us the win.
 
"To reach the post-season is nice—but we've still got some work to do."
 
While Wednesday's win—thanks to all possible tie-breaker scenarios—earned Saint Mary's a post-season invitation, the Cardinals still have a shot at hosting a first-round playoff match with a win in their regular-season finale against Gustavus on Saturday.
 
The Cardinals took the patient approach to the first two sets against the Oles, pulling away late in each set en route to 25-18 and 25-21 wins. The third set, however, was a different story, as Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) served the set's first seven points and the Cardinals never looked back in cruising to a 25-15 match-clinching Set 3 victory.
 
Fadness and Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn.) finished with a team-best 11 kills, while Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.) chipped in 10 kills to pace the Cardinal offense to a .308 attack percentage. Brittney Hansen (Janesville, Iowa) and Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) dished out 26 and 21 assists, respectively, and Sullivan finished with a team-best 17 digs, four more than Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.).
 
Devon Flohrs posted a match-high 13 kills and Kersten Bork finished with 18 assists in the losing effort for St. Olaf (2-7 MIAC, 9-18 overall).
 
The Cardinals (6-4 MIAC, 18-12 overall) look to lock up a home-court playoff match on Saturday, as they host Gustavus in a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.