DULUTH, Minn. — After playing four straight matches decided in 3-0 sweeps — including Friday's 3-0 loss to St. Catherine — the Saint Mary's University volleyball team decided to take a different approach Saturday against St. Scholastica.
 
The Cardinals found that playing four sets was much more to their liking, as they rallied from a 1-0 deficit, rattling off three straight set victories in cruising to a 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over the host Saints a 3-1.
 
The Saints used a late run to grab the opening set, rallying from a 16-13 deficit with five unanswered points to grab an 18-16 advantage en route to a 25-22 victory.
 
From there, however, the Cardinals took control, evening the match at 1-1 with a 25-21 win in Set 2, before taking a 2-1 lead with a commanding 25-17 win in the third set. And the Cardinals were just getting warmed up, recording 15 of the first 24 points in the fourth set in coasting to a 25-18 victory.
 
Kali Olson (New York Mills, Minn.) and Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Min.) led the way for the Cardinal offense, recording 15 kills each, with Olson added four service aces and McNally tallying 10 digs. Brenna Bruchert (Eau Claire, Wis.) also reached double figures in kills with 11, while Faith VanErp (Sartell, Minn.) dished out 39 assists and tallied nine digs, and Isabella Schei (Stewartville, Minn.) posted a team-best 13 digs.
 
The Cardinals (3-5 MIAC, 11-16 overall) are back in action next weekend, when they close out the home portion of their 2023 schedule with conference matches against Bethel (Friday) and Hamline (Saturday). Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. at the Saint Mary's Gym.
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