RIPON, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team closed out its stay at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational in dominating fashion Saturday afternoon, making it look easy in a 3-0 victory over Maranatha Baptist.
The Cardinals could not find their rhythm in their opening match of the day, falling behind 2-0 — thanks to back-to-back 25-22 losses — in dropping a 3-1 decision to Lakeland.
But against Maranatha Baptist, Saint Mary's was humming on all cylinders, racing out to a 25-16 win in the opening set — and the Cardinals were on cruise control the rest of the way, breezing to wins of 25-19 and 25-12 to seal the sweep and a 2-1 showing in the two-day event.
Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals against Lakeland, posting a team-best 13 kills, while adding 12 digs for her second double-double of the tournament.
Larkin Clem (Elk River, Minn.) delivered a double-double of her own with 23 assists and 12 digs, and
Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn.) closed out the match with a team-leading 19 digs.
Abbie Stigler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) paced the Cardinal offense against Maranatha Baptist, recording 10 kills, while Clem chipped in 20 assists and McNally recorded nine kills and seven digs.
The Cardinals (7-7 overall) are now off until next weekend, when they return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with matches against St. Scholastica and St. Catherine. Saint Mary's heads to Duluth, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup against CSS on Friday, before returning home to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 5 p.m. clash with SCU.
