MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team entered Wednesday's match against Augsburg determined to do something no other Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team has been able to do all season—hand the Auggies a conference loss.
 
Augsburg, however, had other ideas.
 
The Auggies jumped out to a quick, 2-0 lead and never looking back, making the Cardinals conference victim No. 7 with a 3-1 victory at Si Melby Hall.
 
The Cardinals and Auggies traded blows in the first set, with Augsburg posting three of the final four points for a 25-23 victory. The Auggies made it 2-0 with a commanding 25-19 win in the second set, but the Cardinals weren't about to throw in the towel, recording a 25-20 win in the third set.
 
That, however, would be the end of the road for the Cardinals, as Augsburg used a 6-2 run to turn a two-point, 14-12 advantage into a 20-14 cushion en route to a match-clinching 25-17 victory.
 
Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinal offense, recording 18 kills and adding 11 digs, while Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) and Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) also posted double-doubles with 21 assists and 14 digs, and 19 assists and 16 digs, respectively. Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) finished with a team-high 20 digs, while Clare Tack (St. Charles, Ill.) chipped in 14.
 
Jaelyn Arndt and Taylor Linn posted 17 and 16 kills, respectively, for the Auggies, who improved to 7-0 in conference play and moved to 13-6 overall.
 
The Cardinals (5-2 MIAC, 21-3 overall)—who had their seven-match winning streak in falling for just the third time in 24 matches this season—is now off until Oct. 21, when they being a string of four straight home matches with a 7 p.m. showdown against Bethel at the Saint Mary's Gym.