WINONA, Minn. — Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match between the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and St. Thomas volleyball teams was billed as any early season battle of conference heavyweights.
 
In the purple corner was St. Thomas—unbeaten in its first two conference matches, while riding a five-match winning streak and boasting a 10-4 record that included three losses to nationally ranked teams.
 
In the red corner was Saint Mary's—unbeaten in its first two conference matches, while riding 10-match winning streak, and boasting a near-perfect 14-1 record.
 
Unfortunately for Saint Mary's, the Cardinals had no answer for the 1-2 combination of Taylor Lewis and Whitney Lloyd, as Lewis racked up 10 kills and Lloyd delivered eight blocks in leading the Tommies to a 3-0 victory at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Saint Mary's came out swinging in the opening set, scoring four of the first six points, but St. Thomas answered building leads as big as four—including 14-10. The Cardinals used a 6-2 run to knot the set at 16-16, but UST scored nine of the next 12 points to seal a 25-19 Set 1 win.
 
St. Thomas appeared to have the Cardinals on the ropes in the second set, scoring four unanswered points and building what appeared to be commanding 9-2 and 13-4 leads. Saint Mary's used a quick flurry to pull even at 19-19, but again the Tommies had the better finishing kick, outlasted the Cardinals 26-24.
 
Saint Mary's scored three straight to kick off the third set, but again the Tommies had an answer, tallying 13 of the next 14 points for a 13-4 advantage—and the Cardinals never recovered, falling 25-15.
 
Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.) finished with a match-high 11 kills to pace the Cardinals, who struggled offensively, hitting just .077. Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.) chipped in nine kills and Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.) added eight, while Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) and Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) tallied 16 and 11 assists, respectively. Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) recorded 14 digs, with Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.) posting four blocks.
 
The Cardinals (2-1 MIAC, 14-2 overall) are back in action next weekend, traveling to St. Joseph, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference match against Saint Benedict on Friday, before heading to Moorhead, Minn., for a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown with Concordia the following day.