MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — In a battle of conference heavyweights, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and Augsburg volleyball teams came out swinging in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference battle Wednesday evening.
 
The Auggies, however, boasted the late-round knockout punch, cruising to wins in the third and fourth sets to hand Saint Mary's its first conference loss of the season, a 3-1 decision at Si Melby Hall.
 
Augsburg outlasted the Cardinals in the opening set, 25-22, but Saint Mary's turned the tables in Set No. 2, pulling even with a 25-23 victory. From there, Augsburg took control winning the third set 25-18 and the fourth 25-17 to seal the win.
 
Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) collected her third double-double in the last four matches—dishing out 18 assists and adding 21 digs—to pace the Cardinals, who also got 15 kills from Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and a team-best 21 digs from Clare Tack (St. Charles, Ill.). Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) chipped in 12 digs and Lillian Braun (Kasson, Minn.) dished out 14 assists for Saint Mary's.
 
Jordan Weeding and Corrina Evans each recorded 13 kills and Morgan Malley finished with 40 assists for the Auggies, who moved to 1-1 in MIAC play and 10-3 overall.
 
The Cardinals (1-1 MIAC, 10-5 overall) are back on the road on Saturday, traveling to St. Catherine's Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference matchup against the Wildcats.