Volleyball 10/16/04 -- St. Mary's 3, Augsburg 1 (27-30, 30-22, 30-18, 30-25)

BOXSCORE

STORY FROM ST. MARY'S UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

WINONA, Minn. (10/16/04) -- The St. Mary's University volleyball team entered Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against visiting Augsburg College with three streaks intact. The Cardinals left the SMU Gym with just two still alive.

Fortunately for the Cardinals, the one streak they had snapped meant little -- or nothing -- to any of them.

With its Game 1 win -- a 30-27 decision -- the Auggies won a game against SMU for the first time since a 3-2 Cardinal victory in 1999. The Cardinals, however, won the next three games -- 30-22, 30-18, 30-25 -- to extend their unbeaten streak against Augsburg to seven straight, and their current winning streak to a season-high six matches.

"Offensively, I thought we played very well, almost on par with last night," said SMU coach Mike Lester, whose team opened the weekend with a 3-1 victory over Bethel Friday night. "But defensively, we were a little slow. Augsburg ran some things that really kept us off balance. (Augsburg's) middles really did a nice job -- the match really turned into a battle of middles."

A battle that SMU middle hitter Ashley Dingels won by a landslide.

Augsburg's Billie Painschab (Jr., Howard Lake, Minn./Howard Lake-Waverly HS) collected 15 kills and hit .364 from her middle position, but those numbers -- as impressive as they were --paled in comparison to Dingels, who hammered down a season-high 27 kills, hit .511 and tallied six blocks.

"Right now, our offense is really clicking on all cylinders," said Lester, whose team improved to 7-2 in the MIAC and 19-5 overall. "But were aren't quite as consistent defensively. If we can figure out a way to dig and block better -- put that together with the offense we've got right now -- we'd be awfully tough to stop."

Until they can put it all together, however, Lester is content to let his team continue to find ways to win.

"It wasn't a pretty match, but we got the job done -- and in this conference, a win is a win, no matter how you get it," said Lester, who also got 16 kills from Megan Roesler (St. Paul, Minn.), 11 from Tracy Koertgen (Crystal Lake, Ill.) and 10 from Lisa Engdahl, while Tessa Stranik (Eatonville, Wash.) tallied 59 assists.

Linnea Evans * (Jr., Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo HS) had 13 kills and three service aces for the Auggies, while Kristy Larson * (Sr., Pine Island, Minn.) had 11 kills. Alexis Johnson (Jr., Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul HS) had 42 assists. Sarah Bradley (Fr., International Falls, Minn.) had nine kills, 10 digs and three service aces.

Both teams are in MIAC action on Wednesday (10/20) at 7:30 p.m. with home matches. Augsburg hosts Bethel, and St. Mary's hosts Carleton.