WINONA, Minn. — It has almost become expected that when the Saint Mary's University volleyball team takes the court, the Cardinals will find themselves staring at a 1-0 deficit after the opening set.
 
After all, the Cardinals entered Monday's matchup against Saint Benedict having lost Set 1 in five of their first six matches — coming back to win four of those five.
 
And Monday's match against the Bennies was no exception.
 
Unfortunately, this time around, there would be no Cardinal comeback, as Saint Benedict followed up its 25-21 victory in the opening set with 25-22 and 25-20 victories for a 3-0 triumph over Saint Mary's at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
In a set that was tied 10 times, the Bennies trailed just twice in the opening set — 9-8 and 21-20. And staring at that 21-20 deficit, CSB promptly rattled off five unanswered points to take the set, 25-21.
 
Neither team led by more than three points in the second set, with both teams taking turns playing with a one-point lead early, before CSB grabbed the first of its three-point Set 2 leads, 12-9. The Bennies also led 17-14 and 20-17, only to have Saint Mary's claw its way back each time, eventually knotting the set at 22-22. Just like in the opening set, however, the Bennies had the knockout punch down the stretch, winning the final three points for a 25-22 win — and a 2-0 lead.
 
The third set followed the exact same script as the first two — to a point.
 
After nine ties through the first 28 points, the Bennies began to wear down the Cardinals, building their lead to five, 21-16 — and Saint Mary's could not recover, falling 25-20.
 
Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) — the reigning MIAC Offensive Player of the Week and one of five Cardinals seniors player their final collegiate home match — led the way for the SMU offense, recording her sixth consecutive double-double with 18 kills and 12 digs. Coral Anderson (Rogers, Minn.) capped off her home collegiate career with 10 kills, while Mandy Schmidt (Mitchell, S.D.) dished out 35 assists and DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) collected 21 digs.
 
The Cardinals (5-2 overall) are right back in action on Wednesday, heading to St. Thomas' Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. showdown with St. Thomas.