DE PERE, Wis. – The Saint Mary's volleyball program (5-3) finished their weekend in Wisconsin taking down Ripon (1-6) in three sets before falling to Lawrence (5-3) in the final match of the day, 3-1.
Kali Olson was named to the Chick-fil-A Invitational All-Tournament team, helping her team to a 3-1 weekend.
SMU 3, RC 0
The Cardinals got the day underway after taking down the Ripon Redhawks in three quick sets. The Cardinals powered to 18 total kills in set one, hitting a match-high .359. An early 6-0 run got the first set underway as back-to-back service aces by Brooklynn Bolton followed by kills from Kali Olson and Kaia DePaolo.
The Redhawks could not regroup as the team took set one, 25-18.
In set two, the Cardinals had another hot start with their tough serving attempts. Claire Rahman had two quick aces after Lavin LeJeunes first, 7-3. It was a bit more back-and-forth action as the teams traded kills. But it was a five-point run to seal the Cardinals' fate. Brianna Hanneken and Olson took care of business to finish the set 25-18.
Eyeing a sweep, the Cardinals kept the pressure on. Despite trailing for most of the set, Hanneken and Ava Berg assisted the comeback. At 18 all, the Cardinals' hot hands were DePaolo and Olson, to finish the match 25-22.
Olson finished the match leading all scorers with 12 kills, Rahman and Bolton had two aces each, and Kinlee Grattan had 21 assists.
SMU 1, LU 3
Looking to close out the weekend on top, the Cardinals could not shake the Vikings. Although the Cardinals jumped ahead early in set one, 4-0, the early lead was not enough as the Cardinals tallied eight kills in the 25- 17 loss.
They regrouped in the second set, aided by a six-to-nothing run led by tough serving from LeJeune and forcing errors on the Vikings. The Cardinals shut down the late run with kills from Olson and DePaolo.
The team seemed to slow their energy, accumulating just nine kills in set three and just seven in set four as the Vikings came out on top 25-17 and 25-14.
Ayla Olson led the team with 12 kills and 12 digs for a double-double. Kali Olson racked up six blocks.
Looking Ahead
The Cardinals will return home this Wednesday, Sept. 16, hosting UW-La Crosse and Luther for a triangular in David R. Thies Arena. The Cardinals will face the Eagles at 3:00 p.m. before finishing the evening against the Norse at 7:00 p.m.
