Summary vs. Crown / Summary vs. Northwestern
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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Wednesday evening got off to a roaring start for the Saint Mary's University volleyball team, as the Cardinals cruised to their seventh straight win with a 3-0 nonconference win over Crown in the first of two matches at the Northwestern Triangular.

The Cardinals' drive to win No. 8 in a row, however, ran into a roadblock in the form of host Northwestern, as the Eagles snapped SMU's season-high win streak with a 3-0 victory.

“Give Northwestern a lot of credit — they took us out of our system and really took it to us,” said SMU coach Mike Lester, whose Cardinals — ranked No. 24 in the latest AVCA Top 25 — moved to 15-4 with Wednesday's split. “We played very well in our first match (against Crown), but came out a little flat (against Northwestern) and they took advantage.

“I thought we played OK in the second set, taking a 20-18 lead, but they scored seven of the last 10 points to take a 2-0 lead and we just never recovered.”

Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) led the way for the Cardinals in their opener against Crown, collecting a match-high 15 kills, while hitting .636. Sara Harstad (Chatfield, Minn.) chipped in 11 kills, while Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) dished out 37 assists and Lindsay Legatt (Sartell, Minn.) recorded 18 digs.

Against Northwestern, Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) led the Cardinals' charge, accounting for 10 of the team's 31 kills, while Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) — the reigning MIAC Setter of the Week — finished with 24 assists.

“It's disappointing, but every team leaves a match out there along the way — and, hopefully, this is the one we left out there,” said Lester, whose team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate play this weekend, traveling to Saint Benedict on Friday, before squaring off against 20th-ranked Concordia in Moorhead, Minn., on Saturday. “Our job now is to put this behind us and get ready for a big weekend.”