WINONA, Minn. — It wasn't a regular season-ending two-game winning streak, but there was plenty of good to come out of the Saint Mary's University volleyball team's final two matches before Tuesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament opener at Carleton.

The Cardinals went 1-1 in their final two matches last Friday, beating Mount Mercy 3-1, then falling to Wartburg by the same 3-1 margin.

And while SMU coach Mike Lester would have probably loved to end the regular season with a pair of wins, he certainly wasn't complaining.

After all, plenty of good came out of their 1-1 performance.

For example:

*. Lester was able to rest some of his regulars — including standouts Kirstan Rouzer (Comstock, Wis.) and Tracy Koertgen (Crystal Lake, Ill.).

* He was able to give some much-needed experience to some of his younger players — including Lisa Engdahl (North Branch, Minn.) and Molli Dant (Forest City, Iowa), who responded with 34 kills and 45 kills, respectively, in the two matches.

* He was able to sit back and watch as junior Tessa Stranik (Eastonville, Wash.) etched her name in the SMU record books as the single-season assist leader, after compiling 58 assists vs. Wartburg and 45 against Mount Mercy. With her 103 assists in the two matches, Stranik pushed her 2003 total to 1,411, shattering the old mark of 1,370 set by Melissa Cowan in 2001.

All told, it was a rather successful season-finale.

But then, it wasn't the 1-1 weekend that really concerned Lester anyway — his mind was thinking ahead to Tuesday's MIAC Tournament-opener at Carleton.

"I was pleased with our performance over the weekend, mainly because we were able to get a lot of people into the action, and we were able to give some of our regulars a breather," said Lester. "It was a good, positive step as we get ready for Tuesday."

The Cardinals had entered last Wednesday's MIAC regular-season finale against Gustavus with dreams of earning a first-round bye in the opening round of the conference's post-season tournament.

All they had to do was beat the Gusties — and get a win by Macalester in its match against Bethel — and the Cardinals earned the No. 2 spot in the conference, and that all-important first-round bye.

Even if Macalester couldn't beat Bethel, the Cardinals would still wind up hosting a first-round match with a win over the Gusties.

Just one measly win.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, someone forgot to give Gustavus a copy of the script before the match — because the Gusties certainly didn't follow it.

GAC, led by a match-high 19 kills from Tara Houlihan and Anne Oathus, posted a 3-2, 30-22, 25-30, 32-30, 26-30, 18-16 win over the Cardinals, leaving SMU in a four-way tie for third place in the final conference standings.

The loss not only dashed any hopes SMU had of earning a post-season tournament bye, but — because of the MIAC's tie-breaking system — it also meant the Cardinals open post-season play on the road, at Carleton Tuesday night.

"We talked after the first time we played Carleton (a 3-1 SMU loss), and we felt that if we got another shot at them, we'd come out on top," said Lester. "Well, now we've got that shot. (Carleton) is playing in the MIAC Tournament for the first time, so they are going to be really fired up — we have to make sure to match that high level of intensity."