ST. PAUL, Minn. — The match may have been played at Macalester, but when Cassidy Bittle (Winona, Minn.) and Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.) teamed to block an attack by the Scots' Ciara Bauman, fans back in Winona could have probably heard coach Mike Lester's sigh of relief.
 
The Cardinals—coming off a 3-0 loss to Bethel on Friday—could not get on track in falling behind the host Scots 2-0 with a pair of identical 25-22 setbacks.
 
Meaning a second straight conference loss was staring Lester and the Cardinals square in the eye.
 
Fortunately, a third Scot victory never materialized, as Saint Mary's rattled off three straight set wins—25-22, 25-15, and 15-12—to ice the 3-2, come-from-behind Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.
 
For the second night in a row, Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) led the way for the Cardinal offense, recording a team-best 15 kills, while Bittle chipped in 11, and Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.), Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.), and Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) all added nine.
 
Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) and Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.) recorded 25 and 20 assists, respectively, with Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) leading the Saint Mary's defense with 21 digs.
 
Bauman recorded a match-best 22 kills to lead the way for Macalester (1-8 MIAC, 14-13 overall), while Arianna Hesterberg dished out 38 assists and Cora Trout tallied 21 digs.
 
The Cardinals (7-2 MIAC, 18-8 overall), who clinched a spot in the MIAC Playoffs for the third striaght seaosn, maintained its share of second place—and the first-round playoff bye that goes with it—in the conference standings, two games behind league-leading Gustavus (9-0).
 
Saint Mary's hits the road again on Wednesday, heading to Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference match against Carleton.