NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball coach Mike Lester wasn't about to let his Cardinals get lulled into a false sense of security  heading into Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Carleton.
 
Carleton may have entered its showdown with Saint Mary's with just one win in its first five conference matches, but the Knights had proven they can play with—and beat—the conference's best.
 
Case in point … Carleton's lone MIAC victory was a 3-1 triumph last Saturday over nationally ranked Saint Benedict—a team that knocked off the Cardinals 3-0 a day earlier.
 
In other words, Lester and the Cardinals would need to be at the top of their game.
 
And they were.
 
Unfortunately, as good as the Cardinals were, the Knights were just a bit better—outlasting Saint Mary's 15-12 in the fifth and final set for a dramatic 3-2 conference victory.
 
The Cardinals used a late 12-4 run to break a 13-13 tie and win the opening set, 25-17. Carleton would take Sets 2 and 3—28-26 and 25-20—before Saint Mary's pulled even with a 25-19 to force a fifth set.
 
It was the Knights, however, who grabbed the momentum in the final set, scoring four straight points to take a 13-9 lead en route to the 15-12, match-clinching victory.
 
Kenzie Lind and Mary Nordick each collected a team-leading 13 kills, one more than both Alex Peterson and Molly Grover. Tayler MacVey and Brittney Hanson dished out 27 and 26 kills, respectively, while Hanson also led the team in aces with three. Lex Krogstad posted a team best 22 digs, with Hanson (13), Lind (11), Morgan Thomas (11) and MacVey (10) also finishing with 10 or more digs.
 
The Cardinals (3-3 MIAC, 12-7 overall) step out of conference play this weekend, traveling to Naperville, Ill., to take part in the North Central (Ill.) Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament. Saint Mary's will face the University of Chicago and host North Central on Friday, before squaring off against North Park and Wartburg on Saturday.