WINONA, Minn. — Heading into Friday night's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Augsburg, the Saint Mary's volleyball team seen just three of its first 21 matches decided in four sets.
 
Make that four matches.
 
Saint Mary's saw its two-match conference winning streak come to a screeching halt Friday, as Augsburg raced out to a 2-0 lead and handed the Cardinals a 3-1 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Cardinals played with the lead for the first 33 points of the opening set, and held a precarious 17-16 edge. The Auggies rattled off five unanswered points to not only take their first lead of the set, but push that advantage to four, 21-17. SMU cut the deficit to two twice down the stretch — including 23-21 — but Augsburg collected the final two points for a 25-21 victory.
 
The Auggies took charge right from the get-go in the second set, scoring the first three points for a quick 3-0 lead. Saint Mary's responded, scoring 11 of the next 16 points for its biggest lead of the set, 11-8. From there, the see-saw affair would see the set tied six times — including a final time at 19-19 — before the Auggies kicked things into another gear, rattling off six unanswered points for a 25-19 victory.
 
And the Auggies picked up right where they left off to open the third set, using another 6-0 run — this one jump-starting an 8-1 burst that turned a 5-5 deadlock into an eight-point, 13-5 Augsburg cushion. Saint Mary's put together a lengthy run of its own — delivering five consecutive points to cut the gap to two, 13-11. Augsburg regained its composure — and a healthy lead at 21-14 — only to have SMU come roaring back, recording eight straight points for a 22-21 advantage. Three unanswered points put the Auggies one point away from a sweep — but the Cardinals refused to throw in the towel, holding off three match points to claim a 27-25 victory.
 
The late-set heroics seemed to take their toll on the Cardinals to open the fourth set, as Augsburg collected eight of the first 10 points — and 18 of the first 22 — for a commanding 18-4 lead. The Cardinals whittled the lead down to 10, 23-13, but it was too little, too late, as Augsburg completed the four-set victory with a 25-13 win.
 
Kali Olson (New York Mills, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals with 16 kills, while Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Minn.) chipped in 11 kills and 10 digs. Faith VanErp (Sartell, Minn.) chipped in a double-double of her own with 24 assists and 10 digs, and Lindsay Rossow (Rochester, Minn.), Isabella Schei (Stewartville, Minn.), and Ashley Rogers (Onamia Minn.) all finished in double figures in digs with 25, 13, and 12, respectively.
 
The Cardinals (2-4 MIAC, 9-13 overall) are now off until next weekend, when they head to Naperville, Ill., to take part in the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament, hosted by North Central College. SMU will face Augustana (Ill.) at 5 p.m. on Friday, before facing Crown (10 a.m.) and host North Central (2 p.m.) on Saturday.
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