NAPERVILLE, Ill. — If the Saint Mary's University volleyball team was feeling any ill effects from Friday's 3-0 loss to Augustana (Ill.) in the opening match of the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament Friday evening, the Cardinals certainly didn't show it to open Day 2.
 
Not by a long shot.
 
Just 10 days after setting a single-set program record by holding Carleton to just seven points in the second set of a 3-0 SMU victory, the Cardinals were at it again, limiting Crown to a meager five points in the opening set of the teams' tournament showdown.
 
And from there, the Cardinals put things on cruise control, limiting the Polars to just 26 overall points in a 3-0 SMU victory.
 
There were no single-point sets, but there was another 3-0 sweep — and another Cardinal victory.
 
Unfortunately, this time around, it was the North Central Cardinals doing the sweeping, as host NCC dealt Saint Mary's a 3-0 setback to round out the tournament slate.
 
MATCH 1: SAINT MARY'S 3, CROWN 0
The Cardinals set the tone in the opening set against the Polars, rattling off 16 consecutive points, turning a four-point, 8-4 lead, into a 24-4 advantage en route to a 25-5 Set 1 win. Crown actually posted the first point of the middle set, but that would be the only time the Polars would lead the rest of the match, as Saint Mary's cruised to a 25-13 win in the second set and a sweep-clinching 25-x victory in the third.
 
Saint Mary's put three players in double figures in kills — Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Minn.) led the way with 17, and Jazzy Davis (La Crosse, Wis.) and Kali Olson (New York Mills, Minn.) each added 12 — while Faith VanErp (Sartell, Minn.) chipped in team-highs in both assists (45) and digs (15).
 
MATCH 2: NORTH CENTRAL 3, SAINT MARY'S 0
Saint Mary's kept things close in each of its three sets against North Central, but could never seem to get over the hump in falling 25-17, 25-18, and 26-24.
 
Olson posted a team-best 13 kills and McNally added 10, while VanErp delivered 28 assists and Lindsey Rossow (Rochester, Minn.) collected a team-best 10 digs.
 
Saint Mary's (10-15 overall) returns
 to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next weekend, hosting St. Catherine in a 7 p.m. match on Friday at the Saint Mary's Gym, before heading to Duluth, Minn., for a 5 p.m. matchup against St. Scholastica the following evening.
 
 
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