ST. PAUL, Minn. — When the Saint Mary's University volleyball team took the court last Saturday against St. Catherine, coach Mike Lester was shocked at the way his Cardinals played.

"It wasn't pretty, but at this stage of the game, a win is a win," Lester had said following a lackluster 3-2 win over the Wildcats. "Hopefully (the match vs. St. Catherine) was a wake-up call for our players."

If their' performance on Wednesday against St. Thomas is any indication, consider the Cardinals wide-awake.

Led by a 23-kill performance from Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.), the Cardinals handed the league-leading Tommies their first conference loss, cruising to a 3-1 (30-22, 21-30, 30-27, 30-28) victory.

Dingels hit .415 (23-for-41) en route to her match-high 23-kill night, while Tracy Koertgen (Crystal Lake, Ill.) chipped in 12 kills and Kirstan Rouzer (Comstock, Wis.) tallied 11 kills. Dingels and Rouzer also recorded four blocks each, while Dingels led the team in aced (4) and Rouzer posted a team-leading 16 digs.

With the win, the Cardinals improved to 5-4 in the MIAC — and moved one step closer to a spot in the conference's six-team post-season tournament. The Cardinals can lock up a post-season berth with wins in their final two matches of the season — next Wednesday vs. Carleton and Oct. 30 against Gustavus.