WINONA, Minn. — In a rollercoaster of a match filled, the Saint Mary's University volleyball team nearly pulled off a reverse sweep on Saturday evening only to see Concordia-Moorhead escape with a 3-2 win in a thrilling conference showdown.
After dropping the first two sets, the Cardinals (8-10, 1-2 MIAC) found their rhythm and stormed back to take sets three and four convincingly, fueled by strong serving and relentless attacking. But despite the late surge the Cobbers (9-8, 2-1 MIAC) regrouped in the fifth and final set, jumping out to an early lead and holding off a final Cardinal push.
Brenna Bruchert led the Cardinals with a team-high 21 kills and 17 digs for a double-double. Kali Olson was equally impactful, hammering 17 kills on a .375 hitting percentage and finishing with 18.5 points. Ayla Olson stuffed the stat sheet with 17 kills, four service aces, and 22 total points, a career best for all three, while Paige Klug added four aces and 14 digs.
The Cobbers set the tone early, using a balanced attack and key blocks to pull away midway through the opening set. Despite early kills from A. Olson and Bruchert, the Cobbers took control late, closing the set on a run to win 25-17.
Set two was much tighter, with Saint Mary's capitalizing on Cobber miscues and trading points throughout. Bruchert and A. Olson provided the offensive punch, while Klug added another service ace. But Concordia edged ahead late and squeaked out the 25-23 win to go up 2-0.
Facing elimination, the Cardinals came out firing in set three. A. Olson and Bruchert led the charge as Saint Mary's built a lead early and never looked back. Big defensive plays — including a key block from Maddie Baker — helped hold off a Cobber rally, and a service ace from A. Olson sealed the 25-18 win.
Saint Mary's kept that momentum rolling into the fourth. They raced out to an early 7-3 lead and continued to apply pressure with aggressive serving and crisp setting from Devann Clemens. Back-to-back aces from A. Olson and strong finishing at the net by Bruchert put the Cardinals firmly in control, eventually cruising to a dominant 25-15 win to force a decisive fifth set.
In the final frame, it was the Cobbers who responded.Â
Concordia jumped ahead 6-1 behind a service ace and several key blocks. Still, the Cardinals fought back closing the gap to 8-7 with kills from K. Olson and Bruchert and a timely ace from Klug. But Concordia's front line came up big down the stretch, and a late block sealed the 15-9 win.
Despite the loss, the Cardinals are excited to finally be back home after over a month of road games and look ahead to being back home this Friday, October 10th hosting Hamline for a 7:00 p.m. game.
