ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team wasn't perfect in their first two matches of the MIAC-IIAC Border Battle — but the Cardinals were awfully close.

SMU, stuck in the middle of a stretch in which the Cardinals had won just once in their last seven matches, broke out in a big way Friday evening, outlasting Simpson 3-2 (29-31, 30-27, 30-25, 24-30, 15-12) and sweeping Luther 3-0 (30-17, 30-24, 30-28).

"It was a great start for us," said SMU coach Mike Lester. "We needed a day like this – a day in which we played consistent volleyball at a very high level.

"Our biggest problem lately has been that we've been our own worst enemy — we gave away way too many points," continued Lester. "(Friday) we didn't do that. We had three people with more than 18 kills (against Simpson) and they had just eight errors — combined.

"That's outstanding."

Megan Roesler (St. Paul, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals vs. the Storm, collecting a match-best 23 kills, while Molli Dant (Forest City, Iowa) and Lisa Engdahl (North Branch, Minn.) added 18. Desiree Larson (Blaine, Minn.) finished with 21 digs, and Carolyn Kiefer (New London, Wis.) dished out 54 assists.

Roesler led the way for the Cardinals against Luther, recording 17 kills as SMU beating Luther for the third time this season. Dant finished with 11 kills and 11 digs, and Kiefer posted 40 assists.

"I'm very happy with our performance," said Lester, whose team improved to 7-11 overall with the two wins. "It's good to see what we can accomplish when we play up to our capabilities."