WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team took the court against Macalester having dropped back-to-back matches for the first time this season.
Which proved to be very bad news for the visiting Scots.
The Cardinals, coming off two straight 3-1 losses—the first to league-leading Augsburg on Oct. 12 and the second at the hands of Bethel Friday night—took out their frustrations on the Scots Saturday afternoon.
Saint Mary's made it abundantly clear that there would be no three-match losing streak, riding the one-two punch of
Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and
Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.) to a convincing 3-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the Saint Mary's Gym.
The Cardinals used late-set runs to seal all three sets against the Scots—scoring six of the final eight points in winning the opening set 25-21, before using a 10-7 set-ending burst in a 25-20 Set 2 victory and a 15-7 run to complete the sweep with a 25-17 victory in the third set.
Blattner—coming off a rally scoring school-record 31-kill effort in the Cardinals' loss to Bethel on Friday—once again led the Cardinal offensive charge, finishing with 16 kills, while Barth chipped in 12 kills and hit a team-best .267.
Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) picked up her second straight double-double—and 11
th of the season—dishing out 24 assists and adding 11 digs.
Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) and
Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) each delivered 16 digs, and Braun added 13 assists to join Hanson in the double-double department.
India Medaris collected 14 kills, and Samantha Bongiorno and Brooke Hunter posted 15 and 13 assists, respectively, to pace Macalester (1-8 MIAC, 9-16 overall).
The Cardinals (6-3 MIAC, 22-4 overall) are right back on their home court on Wednesday, hosting Carleton in a 7 p.m. conference match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
