WINONA, Minn. — Coming off a pair of impressive wins — a 3-0 rout of 16th-ranked Wartburg and a 3-1 win over NCAA Division II and cross-town rival Winona State — it would have almost been expected that the Saint Mary's University volleyball team might come out a bit flat against St. Catherine, a team that had won just once in its first 10 matches.

Flat? Not a chance.

In fact, the Cardinals wasted little time dismantling the Wildcats, needing just over an hour to post a 3-0, 30-20, 30-18, 30-18 win the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener Wednesday night.

"We started a little slow, but it didn't take us long to get into the swing of things," said SMU coach Mike Lester. "When you consider we've played 12 matches in the last 15 days, I almost expected that we might have a bit of a letdown (against St. Catherine).

"But after the slow start, we just picked things up and got back to playing at a very high level."

Which is exactly what Lester expects from this year's team.

"We're tired – 12 matches in a span of 15 days is tough — and this break (SMU will have had a seven-day break before returning to action Wednesday at home against Hamline) could not come at a better time," said Lester. "I like where we are at right now. To be 10-2, and to have played some of the teams we've played, that's a great accomplishment."

But the season has only just begun — and Lester isn't about to let his team rest on their laurels.

"We're off to a good start, but that's all it is, a start," said the SMU head coach, noting that SMU's next four matches — MIAC contests vs. Hamline, St. Benedict, Concordia and St. Thomas — will be critical matches in the Cardinals' drive to a conference crown. "We play four very important matches in a seven-day span. I'm proud of what we've accomplished — this team deserves to be 10-2 — but we've still got a lot of work ahead of us."