DECORAH, Iowa — In both of the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team's matches during the second day of the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic last Saturday, the Cardinals dropped the opening set, only to rally from behind for a pair of 3-2 victories.
 
Wednesday evening against Luther, the Cardinals once again found themselves staring at a 1-0 deficit after the opening set.
 
Unfortunately, this time around, there would be no come-from-behind victory, as Luther jumped out to a 2-0 lead and the Cardinals could not fully recover in falling 3-1.
 
Luther came out swinging in the opening set, rolling to a 25-15 victory, and followed that up with a 25-20 victory in Set 2. Saint Mary's regrouped with a 25-21 win in the third set, but the Norse iced the win with a 25-16 victory in the fourth set.
 
Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals, finishing with 10 kills and 12 digs for her third double-double of the season. Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.) chipped in nine kills and hit .400, while Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) chipped in eight and seven kills, respectively.
 
Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) dished out a team-best 29 assists and Clare Tack (St. Charles, Ill.) finished with a team-high 17 digs.
 
The Cardinals (3-2 overall) head to Oshkosh, Wis., this weekend, taking part in the two-day UW-Oshkosh Invitational. Saint Mary's will face Washington (Mo.) University at 3:30 p.m. and Wisconsin Lutheran at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, before squaring off against Benedictine at 9:30 a.m. and host UW-Oshkosh at 11:30 a.m. the following day.