WINONA, Minn. – Although the Saint Mary's volleyball team was unable to end their Sugar Loaf Classic with two wins, the Cardinals celebrated their senior middle hitter, Kali Olson, who surpassed 1,000 career kills.
The Cardinals fell short in five sets to UW-Superior before falling to Wisconsin Lutheran Saturday evening in four sets.
SMU 2, UWS 3
The Cardinals took sets one and two, 25-22 wins, and looked like they were coming for the sweep. The Yellowjackets' energy and defense dug them out of the deficit for a reverse sweep.
In set five, the tight battle came down to whose timely decisions would make the difference. The Cardinals started the fifth set 3-1 with kills from Olson and Brianna Hanneken early.
Kinlee Grattan was a threat from behind the service line, serving a team-best four aces in the game, and helped push the Cardinals' lead to more. Errors began to build up, and the Cardinals could not overcome the late run by the Yellowjackets as they fell 15-12 in game one of the day.
Olson led the Cardinals in kills with 15, and Lavin LeJeune led in assists with 17.
SMU 1, WLC 3
Similar to game one, the Cardinals came out with the heat. They took set one 25-17, taking the early 1-0 lead over the Vikings of Wisconsin Lutheran. A 10-2 start fueled the momutm all Cardinals. It was led by four kills from Olson and Claire Rahmen and LeJeune, with an ace apiece.
The energy was then sucked out of the Cardinals in set two, falling 25-15 before pushing two extra point sets. The third set was a back-and-forth battle with a total of 16 lead changes for a true battle. It was led by the Olson sisters, Ayla Olson and Kali Olson, with seven kills total to lead the Cardinals in the set.
Facing defeat, the Cardinals looked to get the energy from the first set back, but it was too late. The Cardinals struggled to earn a stop and a score and fell in the final frame, 28-26.
Kali Olson led the Cardinals with 14 kills and six blocks.
Looking Ahead
The Cardinals will be on the road next weekend, traveling to De Pere, Wis., to compete in the St. Norbert Chick-fil-A Invitational. Game one is Friday, Sept. 11 at 3:00 p.m., followed by a 5:30 p.m. game against Lakeland.
