ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team entered Friday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Hamline in dire need of a pick-me-up.
Back-to-back-to-back losses will do that to a team.
And, thankfully for the Cardinals, the Pipers proved to be just what the doctor ordered.
The Cardinals dominated the first two sets, and used a thrilling, come-from-behind effort to win a marathon third set, en route to a 3-0 win over Hamline — giving SMU its first conference win of the year, and ending its three-match losing streak
The Cardinals appeared to have the first set all locked up early, rattling off six unanswered points for an early 6-1 advantage — and added a 5-0 run to push that advantage to nine, 12-3. Hamline, however, would not go quietly, whittling that lead to two, 16-14, but that is close as the Pipers would get, as Saint Mary's closed the set by recording nine of the final 15 points for a 25-19 victory.
After five ties to open the second set, Saint Mary's once again took control early, riding a 7-1 run to a six-point, 12-6 lead. And just like in the opening set, the Pipers refused to go down without a fight, rattling off 12 of the next 18 points to pull even, 18-18. Both teams held leads down the stretch — including a 22-21 Piper advantage — before Saint Mary's iced the victory with four unanswered points for a 25-22 win.
Hamline, which failed to hold leads bigger than two points through the first two sets combined, swiped the Cardinals' momentum to kick off the third set, racing out to a five-point, 16-11 cushion. Saint Mary's scratched and clawed its way all the way back, pulling even four times — 22-22, 24-24, 25-25, and 26-26 — before the Cardinals rattled off back-to-back points to complete the come-from-behind victory and earn the conference sweep.
Abbie Stigler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) picked up her second double-double In as many matches, leading the Cardinals with 21 kills and adding 13 digs.
Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Minn.) joined Stigler with a double-double of her own, tallying 13 kills and 16 digs, while
Braidyn Ruetten (Holmen, Wis.) chipped in 10 kills.
Mandy Schmidt (Mitchell, S.D.) and
Larkin Clem (Elk River, Minn.) recorded 22 and 20 assistws, respectively, and
Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn.) delivered a team-best 22 digs
The Cardinals (1-3 MIAC, 8-10 overall) are right back in action on Saturday, returning home to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. conference showdown against Carleton.
