WINONA, Minn. — Talk about snatching victory out of the jaws of defeat.

St. Thomas rallied from a 16-4 Game 2 deficit and used that momentum to rally for a 3-2 (17-30, 30-27, 16-30, 30-28, 15-13) victory over the Saint Mary's University volleyball team in a key Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match Wednesday evening.

The Cardinals, who manhandled the Tommies en route to their 30-17 win in the first game, were cruising along in Game 2, racing out toa 16-4 advantage. Then came the serving of UST's Amanda Guralski. By the time Guralski lost her serve — 16 points later — the Tommies were out front, 20-16 en route to a 30-27 victory.

SMU returned to form in routing UST 30-16 in the third game, and were leading — and serving — 28-27. The Tommies, however, rattled off three of the next four points to seal the win and force a decisive fifth game.

The Cardinals again appeared to have things well under control in Game 5, leading 12-7. The Tommies had other ideas, as they served the next five points to tie the match at 12-12. After a Kirstan Rouzer (Comstock, Wis.) kills gave SMU a short-lived 13-12 advantage, UST scored three straight to seal the win.

Tracy Koertgen (Crystal Lake, Ill.) recorded 16 kills and carried a .464 attack percentage to lead the Cardinals (6-3 MIAC, 10-11 overall), while Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.) tallked 14 kills and Rhonda Thibault (Faribault, Minn.) added 13. Leslie Nicholls (Hastings, Minn.) had 21 digs and Kirstan Rouzer added 19 for SMU, while Melissa Cowan (Algonquin, Ill.) finished with 47 assists and five service aces.

St. Thomas (6-3 MIAC, 15-5 overall) was led by Katie Reynolds' game-high 18 kills.