WINONA, Minn. — For the Saint Mary's University volleyball team, the first two games of their final match at the UW-La Crosse Invitational last Saturday were eerily easy — almost too easy.

The final three games, however, were anything but easy.

In fact, they were downright hard.

Coe College rebounded from that sluggish start — and dug out of that seemingly insurmountable 0-2 hole —  winning the last three games to hand SMU a 3-2 setback, and leave the Cardinals with a 2-2 record in the two-day tournament.

The Cardinals opened Saturday's play with a 3-0, 30-18, 30-28, 32-30 win over Buena Vista, then came out and won the first two games vs. the Kohawks 30-19 and 30-18. From there, however, the wheels fell off, as SMU managed just 20 points in a 30-20 loss in Game 3, and 24 points in a 30-24 loss in Game 4. Coe then completed the comeback with a 15-13 win in the fifth and deciding game.

On Friday, there was no middle ground for the Cardinals — it was either win big, or lose big.

The Cardinals opened the tournament with an impressive 3-0, 30-16, 30-25, 30-27 win over Augustana, then turned around and were swept by Loras 3-0, 30-25, 30-28, 30-27.

"We played all right," said SMU coach Mike Lester, whose team moved to 20-8 overall. "This was a tournament where we were able to get a lot of people into the action — get everyone some experience. Going 2-2 was OK, but we could have played better."

Yet, while Lester certainly would have liked to see his Cardinals fare a little better in the two-day tournament, he's not losing sleep over it.

No, the sleepless nights are thanks to SMU's impending showdown with Gustavus this Wednesday in a match that will determine when — and where — the Cardinals will open the MIAC post-season tournament.

The Cardinals are currently locked in a four-way tie for second place in the MIAC with one match remaining. A win vs. the Gusties in their MIAC finale — and a win by Macalester over Bethel — and the Cardinals earned the No. 2 spot in the conference, and the tournament bye that comes with it.

If SMU beats the Gusties, but Bethel also wins, SMU would drop to fourth in the standings and would host the fifth-place team in the opening round of the MIAC tournament next Tuesday. Should SMU lose vs. the Gusties, they could end up anywhere from third to fifth.

But Lester doesn't even want to think about that.

"Obviously, (the Gustavus match) is a huge match," said Lester. "The key for us right now is to make sure that everyone is relaxed and focused. When this group plays relaxed — when they just go out there and play the way they are capable — there isn't a team in the conference they can't beat.

"We can't worry about any of the (post-season tournament scenarios), or what any other team is doing — we've got to focus on playing at that high level," continued Lester. "Plain and simple, we've just got to go out there and play."