WINONA, Minn. — There was something "odd" about the Saint Mary's University volleyball team's nonconference match against UW-La Crosse Tuesday afternoon.
 
"Odd" as in the Cardinals had the upper hand in the odd sets against the Eagles.
 
Until the fifth set, that is.

Saint Mary's collected wins in both the first and third sets to grab a 2-1 lead, only to have UW-L rally to knot the match at 2-2, before outlasting the Cardinals 15-10 in the final set to claim the 3-2 victory.
 
Neither team could grab the upper hand early in the opening set, with both teams playing with the lead, before being deadlocked at 13-13. From there, it was all Cardinals, as Saint Mary's used a 5-0 run as part of a set-ending 12-5 burst that gave SMU the 25-18 victory.
 
Unfazed by the Set 1 loss, the Eagles seized the momentum early in the second set, scoring five of the set's first six points — and 17 of the first 22 — en route to a 25-14 victory.
 
The Eagles picked up right where they left off to open the third set, grabbing an early 6-1 edge. But this time around, the Cardinals had an answer — an emphatic one.
 
Saint Mary's rattled off 14 of the next 20 points to take a 16-11 lead. UW-La Crosse whittled the SMU lead to three on three separate occasion, including 18-15, but the Cardinals ended the set with a 7-4 bust to seal the 25-19 win.
 
UW-La Crosse rallied from an early 2-0 deficit, and took advantage of a7-0 run to take a commanding 17-9 lead and the Eagles coasted to a 25-16 victory to force the fifth and decisive set.
 
For the second set in a row, Saint Mary's once again opened with a 2-0 lead, only to have UW-La Crosse grab control late, ending the set with a 7-3 second edge to seal the come-from-behind win, 15-10.
 
Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Minn.) racked up a team-leading 17 kills for the Cardinals, while Jazzy Davis (La Crosse, Wis.) chipped in a career-high 11 kills and hit a team-best .364. Faith VanErp (Sartell, Minn.) dished out 36 assists and Lindsey Rossow (Rochester, Minn.) delivered 18 digs and four service aces for the Cardinals.
 
The Cardinals (5-3) are right back in action at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, when they square off against Luther in a nonconference contest at the SMU Gym.
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