WINONA, Minn. — It took a litlte longer than Mike Lester had hoped, but the Saint Mary's University volleyball team finally picked up its first win of the season Saturday afternoon, as the Cardinals breezed past Concordia-Wisconsin 3-0 (30-24, 30-19, 30-21) during the second day of the Sugar Loaf Classic.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals' winning streak was shortlived as SMU dropped a 3-0 decision (30-15, 30-27, 30-27) decision to 15th-ranked UW-Oshkosh in the tournament's final game.

Against Concordia-Wisconsin, Rhonda Thibault (Faribault, Minn.) led the way with a 14-kill, 2 block performance, while Kirstan Rouzer (Comstock, Wis.) and Leslie Nicholls (Hastings, Minn.) chipped in nine and seven kills, respectively. Ashley Kuhn (Naperville, Ill.) appeared in only one of the three games against the Falcons, but made her presence known with five service aces. Melissa Cowan (Algonquin, Ill.) finished with 31 assists and four aces.

Things didn't go quite as smoothly against the Titans, however.

Tracy Koertgen (Crystal Lake, Ill.) led the Cardinals with 12 kills, while Thibault chipped in 11 as the two combined for 23 of SMU's 37 kills. Nicholls recorded 12 digs and Rouzer chipped in 11.