WINONA, Minn. ­— After dispatching of Buena Vista rather handily in the teams' first two meetings of the year, the Saint Mary's University volleyball team had its sights set on a three-match, season sweep of the Beavers when the teams took the court Wednesday evening.
 
The third time was anything but a charm for the Cardinals, however.
 
Buena Vista was unstoppable in the third and fourth sets, breaking away from a 1-1 tie after the opening two sets and dealing the Cardinals a 3-1 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Beavers took control from the first serve in the opening set, collecting the first two pointns and never relinquishing the lead en route to a 25-18 victory, and a 1-0 lead.
 
Buena Vista started the second set in much the same fashion it did the first, recording the set's first two points, only to have SMU rattle off five of the next seven points for its first lead of the match, 5-4. The teams would take turns playing with the lead, and, after the 10th tie of the set at 20-20, SMU collected five of the final eight points for a 25-23 win.
 
The Beavers regained the upper hand, dominating the third set from start-to-finish — allowing SMU to play with the lead just twice at 5-4 and 6-5 — and closing the set on a 7-2 run, including the final four points of a 25-14 BVU victory.
 
As dominant as the Beavers were in the third set, they were even more so in the fourth, using a 7-0 run to kick-start an 11-2 outburst that gave BVU a commanding 21-9 cushion. The Cardinals did their best to chip away at the 12-point deficit, clawing to within six, 21-15 — thanks to a 6-0 burst — only to have Buena Vista close out the match with four of the final five points for a 25-16 victory
 
Abbie Stigler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) hammered out a team-high 18 kills and Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Minn.) chipped in a double-double of 16 kills and 15 digs, as the duo accounted for 34 of the team's 48 kills. Larkin Clem (Elk River, Minn.) posted her third double-double of the season with 18 assists and 15 digs, while Mandy Schmidt (Mitchell, S.D.) matched Clem with 18 assist and Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn.) notched 12 digs.
 
Saint Mary's (9-11 overall), returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play this weekend, hosting Saint Benedict at 7 p.m. contest on Friday, before welcoming Concordia to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 3 p.m. matchup the following afternoon.
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