By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — For the second time in three nights, the Saint Mary's University volleyball team found itself in the midst of a see-saw nailbiter Friday evening.
 
And, unfortunately, for the second in the last three nights, the Cardinals came out on the short end, falling to Loras 3-2 during the opening day of the Coe Invitational.
 
Down, but far from out, the Cardinals regrouped and took their frustrations out on the second opponent of the evening, Ripon — dealing the Red Hawks a 3-1 setback.
 
The Cardinals, coming off a 3-1 loss to Hamline in the teams' conference-opener on Wednesday — a match that had all four sets decided by five points or less, split the first four sets against Loras — falling in the opener 25-20, winning Set. 2 25-21, struggling in a 25-12 third set, before turning the tables with a 25-13 win in Set 4.
 
And it took a little overtime for the Duhawks to pull off the win in the fifth and decisive set, dropping the Cardinals 16-14 for the 3-2 win.
 
Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) picked up her second straight double-double against the Duhawks, posting 36 assists and adding 10 digs, while Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) delivered 16 kills and Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn. Added 10.
 
DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) — coming off a career-high 42 digs against Hamline last Wednesday — led the Cardinals with 15 digs, with Hayley Weber (Gladbrook, Iowa) and Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn.) each adding 12.
 
In their second match of the evening, the Cardinals proved to be too much for the Red Hawks for the second time in less than a week.
 
Saint Mary's, which beat Ripon 3-0 during the final day of the Red Hawk Invitational last weekend, split its two matches with the Red Hawks this time around — winning the first set 25-19, only to drop the second 25-17. From there, however, it was all Saint Mary's, as the Cardinals completed the win with 25-20 and 25-13 victories.
 
Braun once again led the way with 44 assists, with Erin Lime (Lino Lakes, Minn.) delivering a team-best 10 kills, while Baab delivered 23 digs.
 
The Cardinals (7-5 overall) close out the two-day Coe Invitational on Saturday, squaring off against UW-Eau Claire and Cornell.