ST. PETER, Minn. — Mike Lester would have loved for his Saint Mary's University volleyball team to cruise through the MIAC-IIAC Border Battle with a perfect 4-0 record.

And, thanks to Saturday's 3-1 (25-30, 30-27, 30-28, 30-24) win over Loras, SMU was one step away from achieving that goal.

Unlike the three Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schools before them, however, the University of Dubuque wasn't about to let the Cardinals bully them around, as the Spartans knocked SMU off its perfect pedestal, 3-1 (34-32, 24-30, 30-20, 30-23).

"It was a good weekend for us," said Lester, whose team had opened the weekend with a 3-2 win over Simpson and a 3-0 triumph over Luther — the third time this season that the Cardinals had beaten the Norse. "We played very well (in Friday's two matches) and we came out and played very well again today.

"The Dubuque match was one of those matches that easily could have gone either way," continued Lester. "We certainly played well enough to win — Dubuque just played a little bit better."

Lisa Engdahl (North Branch, Minn.) and Molli Dant (Forest City, Iowa) continued to lead the Cardinals' offensive attack on Saturday, as Engdahl collected 20 kills against Loras and added a season-high 25 against the Spartans, while Dant — SMU's lone representative on the all-tournament team — picked up 22 kills vs. Loras and 14 more against Dubuque.

"Our outsides (Engdahl and Dant) are really starting to step and play extremely well, which opens everything up for us," said Lester, whose team moved to 8-12 overall with the 3-1 tournament finish. "We really needed a weekend like this. I think it not only shows the team just how good we can be when we play up to our capabilities, but, hopefully, it will also work as a springboard to the rest of the season."