Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics

DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Saint Mary's volleyball team (8-5) came up short on Saturday, dropping two matches to end the weekend in Iowa. The Cardinals squared up against Lawrence (7-6), looking for a rematch, and host school Dubuque (11-2) to cap the day.

SMU 0, LU 3

The Cardinals fell to a tough Vikings offense in game one of the day. A team the Cardinals remember all too well and fell to last weekend, 3-1.

The Vikings limited the Cardinals' offense to just nine kills in the first set. The teams traded points in the early openings with aces from Kaia DePaolo and kills by Kali Olson, but the outside slots from the Vikings were too much as they had 16 kills on a match-high .316 attack percentage. The Cardinals dropped the opening set 25-17.

It was a battle of errors in set two for both teams. The Cardinals had a match-low .114 compared to a match-low .133 for the Vikings. The Cardinals trailed all game until finally evening the match 14-all.

Errors hurt the Cardinals late as the Vikings took set two 25-21.

Looking to beat the sweep, Kali Olson and Brianna Hanneken got the offense going in set three. The Cardinals went on a five-point rally to jump ahead for the first time, 11-10, led by DePaolo and two big aces by Emma Rommes.

The momentum felt on the Cardinals' side after a personal three-kill run by Kali Olson, and two by Ayla Olson extended the lead to 17-13. The Cardinals could not hold the Vikings as they dropped game one of the day.

SMU 0, UD 3

The Cardinals matched up against a regionally ranked Spartan team to finish the weekend in Dubuque. The Spartans took control in set one, with a dominant 25-14 win over the Cardinals.

The Cardinals battled a relentless offense that found rhythm in set two for the Spartans as they limited the Cardinals to a negative attack percentage. 

In set three, the Cardinals put up a fight. An early 8-3 lead for the Spartans stumped the Cardinals. Errors piled up on both sides of the net, but the Spartans took set three 25-22.

The Cardinals closed the weekend 1-2 in Dubuque.

Looking Ahead

It is back to Iowa for the Cardinals' next matchup. The team will be at Wartburg College next Saturday, Sept. 26, facing Wartburg and Concordia Wisconsin before conference action the following weekend.