WINONA, Minn. — Through the first three matches of the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, the Cardinal Express steamrolled through North Park, the University of Dubuque and Illinois Wesleyan.
 
Then came Wartburg — and a Cardinal derailment.
 
Wartburg, behind a match-high 12 kills from Bailey Wilson, cooled off the red-shot Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team, blanking the Cardinals 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-21).
 
"All-in-all, it was a good weekend — despite the final match," said Saint Mary's coach Mike Lester. "I thought we played pretty well all tournament. It would have been nice to come away with a different result (against Wartburg), but I think we learned a bit about ourselves this weekend."
 
After coming out sluggish in the first set — and  most of the second — the Cardinals' offense came to life. Trailing 19-9 in Set 2, Saint Mary's rattled off 11 of the next 13 points to cut the deficit to 21-20. The Knights, however, tallied the final five points of the set to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Saint Mary's controlled the third set early, jumping out to a 6-3 lead, only to have Wartburg pull way late to seal the 3-0 sweep.
 
Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) led the Cardinals with eight kills, while Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) dished out 12 assists and Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) had a team-best 16 digs.
 
Saint Mary's (3-1 overall) heads west next weekend, traveling to Colorado Springs, Colo., to take part in the Colorado College Classic. The Cardinals will face Tufts, East Texas Baptist, Colorado College and Clarkson during the two-day event.