WINONA, Minn. — After eight straight 3-0 wins at home, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team decided to switch things up a bit in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoff match against Bethel.
Rather than a quick, 3-0 sweep, the Cardinals spotted the visiting Royals a 1-0 lead.
And then promptly disposed of the Royals in three straight.
After dropping that first set 25-22, the Cardinals ripped off three straight wins—25-17, 25-21, 26-24—to post the 3-1 win, and earn a spot opposite top-seeded Augsburg in Thursday's MIAC semifinal match in Minneapolis, Minn.
"That was a great match," understated Saint Mary's coach
Mike Lester. "The atmosphere was incredible, and I thought our ladies really fed off of that. In my 19 years here, that's by far the best crowd—and the best atmosphere—we have ever played in front of."
And the Cardinals in general—and outside hitters
Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn.) and
Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn.) in particular—certainly gave the raucous home crowd plenty to cheer about.
Sullivan delivered a career-high 19 kills and hit .326, while Lind chipped in 12 kills and owned a .345 attack percentage.
It was a one-two punch that, heading into the Tuesday showdown, Lester hoped would be the knockout blow against the Royals.
"We talked all week that our last couple of matches, the match-ups favored our middles and right side, but we knew coming into tonight that our outsides had an opportunity to be successful," explained Lester. "Give our setters, and Jenna and Kenzie a ton of credit, they really came through for us."
Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) was the third Cardinal to reach double figures in kills with 14, while
Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) and
Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) tallied 31 and 24 assists, respectively.
Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) posted her 12th match of 20 or more digs, finishing with 21 to lead four Saint Mary's players in double figures in digs.
Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) chipped in 13 digs, with Sullivan and MacVey adding 11 and 10 digs, respectively.
Kristin Stern and Tegan LaBerge each collected 11 kills to pace the Royals, who closed out the season with an 18-10 overall record.
With the win, the Cardinals improved to 20-12—marking the eighth time under coach Lester that Saint Mary's has won 20 or more matches—and will now face top-seeded Augsburg in a 7 p.m. conference semifinal match on Thursday in Minneapolis, Minn.
