NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team's drive to a fifth straight appearance in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoffs hit a major speed bump Wednesday evening.
 
The Cardinals entered Wednesday's conference showdown with St. Olaf tied for fourth place in the standings and needing just one win—and a Bethel loss—in their final two matches to lock up a post-season invitation.
 
Thanks to a 3-0 loss to the host Oles, however, Saint Mary's exited Skoglund Center deadlocked with Bethel for the sixth and final playoff spot—and still needing a win, or a Royals' loss, to earn that playoff berth.
 
The Cardinals (6-4 MIAC, 15-12 overall) close out their regular-season schedule with a 3 p.m. match at Gustavus on Saturday. The Cardinals need either a win against the 16^th-ranked Gusties (7-3 MIAC)—or a Royals' loss to third-place Augsburg (7-3 MIAC)—to keep their season alive.
 
If Saint Mary's and Bethel remain tied following Saturday's matches, the Cardinals get the playoff invite—thanks to their 3-2 win over the Royals on Sept. 12.
 
The Cardinals came out strong in the opening set against St. Olaf, matching the Oles point-for-point and sitting tied early, 8-8. From there, however, the Oles took control, rattling off seven straight points and never looking back en route to a 25-12 Set 1 win.
 
And St. Olaf was just getting warmed up.
 
The Oles never trailed in the second set, holding off a late Saint Mary's run for a 25-19 victory and a 2-0 lead.
 
In the third set, St. Olaf again had the upper hand early, leading 14-9, but the Cardinals came storming back, grabbing a 22-21 lead, only to have the Oles record four of the final five points to complete the sweep with a 25-23 victory.
 
Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) recorded a team-high 11 kills and Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) dished out 13 assists for the Cardinals, who also got a team-best nine digs from Clare Tack (St. Charles, Ill.).
 
Lauren Rewers equaled Blattner's 11-kill effort to pace St. Olaf, while Lexi Wall dished out 34 assists and Haley Langeslag finished with a team- and match-high 13 digs.