ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team headed into their showdown with St. Thomas with a pair of lengthy streaks on the line.
And thanks to a come-from-behind 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory, one streak remained in tact—and the other was finally broken.
Fueled by a double-double of 15 kills and 16 digs from
Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn.), the Cardinals not only pushed their winning streak to a season-high seven in a row, but also put an end to the Tommies' 14-match winning streak against Saint Mary's—a streak that dated back to a 3-1 Cardinal victory on Oct. 16, 2002, also at Schoenecker Arena.
"It was a big win because it was a conference win—just like the win over Hamline, just like every win we have in conference is big," said Saint Mary's coach
Mike Lester. "We had a lot of great performances, but none was bigger than that of
Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.). She was a huge key for us coming off the bench and settling us down. She served great, played great defense—she was incredibly valuable to us today."
Sullivan wasn't the only offensive weapon for the Cardinals against the Tommies, as
Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.) chipped in a career-high 13 kills, while hitting a team-best .464.
Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) dished out a team-leading 24 assists, with Hess chipping in a career-high 17 helpers.
Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.)—the reigning MIAC and AVCA Player of the Week—finished with 24 digs, with Sullivan (16),
Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill. / 14), and Hess (12) also recording 10 or more digs.
Taylor Lewis and Whitney Lloyd finished with 15 and 11 kills, respectively, while Rebecca Hawkins dished out 21 assists for the Tommies.
The Cardinals (3-0 MIAC, 14-2 overall) are now off until next Friday and Saturday, when they will entertain Saint Benedict and Concordia in a pair of conference matches at the Saint Mary's Gym. Saint Mary's and CSB will square of Friday at 7 p.m., with the Cobbers in town for a 3 p.m. match on Saturday.
