STEVENS POINT, Wis. — In a season that has already seen plenty of individual firsts, the Saint Mary's University volleyball squad can add a team first to the list — first five-set match of the season.
 
Unfortunately for coach Jackie Kiecker and the Cardinals, this latest first did not exactly work out in their favor, as Marian rallied from a 2-1 deficit with wins in the fourth and fifth sets to hand Saint Mary's a 3-2 setback in the teams' first match on day two of the UW-Stevens Point Invitational Saturday.
 
There would be no five-set marathon in the Cardinals' second match of the day — in fact, the match was decided in three sets.
 
Which, once again, was not a favorable outcome for the Cardinals, who came up empty in falling to host UW-Stevens Point 3-0.
 
The Cardinals and Sabres traded 25-22 victories in the first two sets of their match, with Saint Mary's grabbing the 2-1 lead — using an 8-1 run to erase a 14-12 deficit and propel SMU to the 25-20 victory.
 
Marian pulled even with a commanding 25-17 victory in the fourth set, and rode that wave of momentum to a 15-11 win in the fifth and decisive set.
 
Faith Van Erp (Sartell, Minn.) — who recorded a career-best nine kills in SMU's 3-0 win over Beloit on Friday — erupted for a new career-high with 19 kills against the Sabres. Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Minn.) recorded her second double-double of the season with 14 kills and 12 digs, while Mandy Schmidt (Mitchell, S.D.) also tallied her second double-double of the year with 29 assists and 10 digs.
 
UW-Stevens Point took control early in the Cardinals' second match of the afternoon, grabbing an 18-14 lead and slowing pulling away en route to a 25-17 victory. The Pointers continued to prove to be the ungracious host in Set 2, recording 11 of the first 14 points and rolling to a 25-12 victory. UW-Stevens Point followed a very similar script in the third set, jumping out to a commanding 20-10 lead en route to a 25-14 win.
 
McNally and Braidyn Ruetten (Holmen, Wis.) led the Cardinal offensive attack against the Pointers with nine kills each, while Larkin Clem (Elk River, Minn.) dished out 14 assists and Schmidt finished iwht nine. DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) finished with a team-best 10 digs.
 
The Cardinals (3-5 overall) are back in action on Wednesday, when they travel to Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. showdown with Carleton in both teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener.