WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's volleyball (10-11, 3-3) earned a set at home but fell 3-1 to Saint Benedict (14-4, 5-1) in Saturday's league match.
The Cardinals dropped the opening set 25-20, despite keeping things close early thanks to strong plays from Kinlee Grattan, Brenna Bruchert, and Kali Olson. Saint Benedict pulled away late, capitalizing on Saint Mary's errors to take the lead.
Saint Mary's began the second set facing an early deficit, with Saint Benedict opening a 7-2 lead. However, the Cardinals responded with a decisive run midway through the set. Maddie Baker and Ayla Olson played pivotal roles in blocking efforts, allowing the Cardinals to storm back and tie the game at 10-10.
Momentum continued to shift as Saint Mary's capitalized on errors from the Bennies and effective kills by Ayla Olson and Bruchert turned the set around. They extended their advantage to 19-16, maintaining pressure through efficient plays from Devann Clemens, and Grattan. There was a late push from Saint Benedict, but the Cardinals secured the set with a 25-22 win, closing out the period with an error from the visiting team.
Momentum swung back to the Bennies in the third, who stormed to a 25-9 win behind a dominant offensive stretch. The Cardinals couldn't recover, despite efforts from Clemens and Kali Olson.
The Cardinals came out strong in the fourth, jumping to a 5-0 lead with kills from Grattan and Klug. But Saint Benedict slowly chipped away and tied it at 16-16. Grattan earned a pair of aces but the Bennies closed things out with a late run, winning the final set 25-21.
Ayla Olson led the Cardinals with 11 kills and 13 digs. Kali Olson added 10 kills and hit .333, while Clemens finished with 21 assists. Bruchert chipped in eight kills and three blocks.
The Cardinals look ahead to their next league match on Friday, October 24 traveling to St. Catherine for a 7:00 p.m. match up.