WINONA, Minn. — When the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and Bethel volleyball teams squared off in the opening round of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoffs Tuesday evening, it marked the second time in two weeks the Cardinals and Royals have clashed.
 
And Tuesday's playoff matchup had some similarities, and some significant differences, from meeting No. 1.
 
The most glaring difference?
 
Unlike the first meeting, the Cardinal offense did not have to rely on a school-record 31-kill effort from Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.), spreading the wealth a bit—getting 12 kills from Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.), 10 from Blattner, and nine from Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.).
 
The most glaring similarity?
 
The final score—which was not good news for coach Mike Lester, as the Royals posted their second straight 3-1 win at the Saint Mary's Gym, putting an end to the Cardinals' playoff run.
 
"I could not be more proud of this group and how they represented Saint Mary's and their fellow athletes," said Lester, whose team was making its fourth straight MIAC Playoff appearance. "Tonight's crowd was awesome—the Saint Mary's community really turned out to support us, and it made for a great atmosphere for a playoff volleyball match."
 
The Royals took control early in the match, scoring the first three points—and 10 of the first 15—in the opening set, only to have the Cardinals claw their way back, cutting the Royal lead to two, 11-9. That, however, would be as close as Saint Mary's would get, as Bethel scored 14 of the next 23 points to claim a 25-18 Set 1 win.
 
It was more of the same in the second set, with Bethel using an 11-6 burst to turn a 7-7 deadlock into an 18-13 BU lead. Saint Mary's cut the deficit to three on three separate occasions, but the Royals scored the final three points of the set to earn the 25-19 victory—and a 2-0 lead.
 
Saint Mary's came to life in the third set—thanks in large part to the serving of Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.), who delivered six straight points, as the Cardinals' lead ballooned from 18-15 to 24-15 en route to a 25-16 victory.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that would be the bright spot, as Bethel dominated the fourth set, winning eight of the first nine points and never looking back in icing the quarterfinal win with a 25-10 victory.
 
"Give Bethel credit, they played a great match," said Lester, whose team had its three-match winning streak snapped with the loss. "I thought both teams made some great adjustments from our last match."
 
Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) posted her 13^th double-double of the season for the Cardinals, dishing out 23 assists and adding 12 digs, while Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) finished with 17 assists and nine digs, and Thomas chipped in eight digs.
 
The Cardinals closed out their season with a 24-5 overall record, while Bethel improved to 18-10 and will advance to Thursday's semifinal round against regular-season conference champion Augsburg in Minneapolis, Minn.