WINONA, Minn. — It was a historic night in the David R. Thies Arena as the Saint Mary's volleyball team (15-11, 4-4) took down the visiting St. Scholastica Saints (6-15, 1-7) in four, 3-1.
Lavin LeJeune broke a single-game ace record with 13 service aces, crushing the previous record of seven set in 2022 by Peyton Berg, and as a team, the Cardinals put away a single-game record of 20 total aces, breaking a previous 2011 record of 19.
LeJeune also broke the record within three sets, recording eight when the previous record was seven.
SMU 3, CSS 1
The Cardinals found themselves trailing 4-0 early in the first set, but soon after kicked it into gear. LeJeune got the run started with three aces in a row, followed by a Kali Olson kill. The teams traded leads until the Cardinals went on a 7-1 run to lead 16-13. Three late kills by Olson and Maddie Baker closed set one, 25-20.
It was a bumpy second set, as the Cardinals fell early again, 9-6. The teams tied 14-all after Ayla Olson, and Baker started a spark. The Saints' 13 kills compared to the Cardinals' 11 kills were the difference in the second-set loss, 25-23.
The final two sets were complete master classes.Â
In set three, the Cardinals trailed 10-7, but it wasn't until a 5-0, sparked by Ayla Olson serving and offensive specialty put the Cardinals ahead, 12-10. An 8-0 run that was completed with errors by the Saints put the Cardinals ahead 25-16.
The final set went the same.
LeJeune went on a personal 4-0 serving run to add to her overall total of 13 aces to kickstart the final set. The tough serving shut down the Saints as a whole, with the team at eight in the final frame. The Cardinals shut down the Saints 25-14.
LeJeune recorded a double-double with 13 aces and 14 assists. Kali Olson led the team with 12 kills.
Looking Ahead
The Cardinals will hit the road next week as their next match will be at St. Olaf on Friday, Oct. 30, for a 7:00 p.m. match.
