WINONA, Minn. — When it came to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament experience, the Saint Mary's University volleyball team was the veteran.

After all, the Cardinals had qualified for all three of the conference's post-season affairs since the tournament went to a six-team format in 2001.

Carleton, on the other hand, was a tournament neophyte, making its first-ever appearance in the post-season tourney.

Tuesday evening, however, it was the Knights who played like veterans, as Carleton — fueled by the 10-kill, four-block effort by junior Beth Freeman — cruised to a 3-0, 30-23, 33-31, 30-17, win over SMU, prematurely ending the Cardinals' season.

Tracy Koertgen (Crystal Lake, Ill.) led the way for the Cardinals, collecting a match-high 11 kills, while also adding 12 digs and two blocks. Tessa Stranik (Eatonville, Wash.) finished with 22 assists and 11 digs, with Desiree Larson (Blaine, Minn.) chipping in 14 digs.

"It wasn't that we played that poorly, it's just that we ran into a team that played really, really well," said SMU coach Mike Lester. "Injuries limited us a bit in what we could do offensively, and (Carleton) took advantage of that. They figured that, without Kirstan (Rouzer, Comstock, Wis.) in there, they could focus on stopping Tracy, and make our other hitters beat them."

And while Molli Dant (Forest City, Iowa), Lisa Engdahl (North Branch, Minn.), Mollie Melton (Oronoco, Minn.) and Co. did their best, it wasn't enough to slow the Knights — or keep the Cardinals' season alive.

"It's a tough way to lose, but you have to give Carleton credit — they played a great match," said Lester, whose team closed out its season at 21-11 — the most wins by an SMU volleyball team since 2000, when the Cardinals went 27-8 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. "This was an amazing year — we had some high highs, some low lows, and everything in between."

* The highs: A season-high nine-match winning streak that put SMU at 9-2, and a six-match run that pushed SMU's record to 15-3 on Sept. 27. … A 7-4 MIAC record that earned SMU a tie for third-place in the final regular-season standings. … A single-season record of 1,433 assists by Stranik.

* The lows: A season-ending injury to Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.), an All-MIAC performer as a sophomore in 2002. … A season-ending run that saw SMU fail to win two straight matches in its final 11 matches.

* The in-betweens: Injuries and illnesses that kept starters Rouzer, Stranik and Larson out of the lineup at one time or another. … One MIAC win in the Cardinals' final four conference matches. … A first-place finish in the SMU Sugar Loaf Classic.

"This team has been a resilient bunch," said Lester. "They have been through a lot, and no matter what happened, they stuck together and worked through it. When Ashley went down (with her season-ending knee injury), it would have been easy for this team to throw in the towel, — and nobody would have faulted them. Instead, they hung together and kept plugging away.

"As a coach, you define success in different ways every year," continued Lester. "When the season started, our goals were to battle for the conference (regular-season) title, make the MIAC playoffs, and get to the NCAA Tournament.

"Did we accomplish everything we set out to? No, but that certainly doesn't mean this season wasn't a success," Lester added. "I'm proud of everything this team has done this season — and when they have a chance to sit back and reflect, I think they are going to feel the same way."