ST. PAUL, Minn. — Heading into Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against St. Catherine, the numbers were not adding up for the Saint Mary's University volleyball team.

The Cardinals had lost a season-high four straight matches, had not won a five-game match in three tries, and had won just two Game 1s in their first 13 matches.

Two hours after the Cardinals stepped on the court, the losing streak was a thing of the past and they improved to 1-3 in five-game matches. That Game 1 record, however, dipped to 2-12.

Two out of three isn't bad.

Fueled by the stellar play of Megan Roesler (St. Paul, Minn.) and Carolyn Kiefer (New London, Minn.), the Cardinals rallied from a sub-par efforts in Game 1 and 2 to post a 3-2 (18-30, 19-30, 30-21, 30-20, 15-10) win over the Wildcats.

"This match was the same as every match we've played all season," said SMU coach Mike Lester. "We have struggled all season long out of the gates, and tonight was no different. We were not a very good team in those first two games, then we won a couple of long rallies early in Game 3 and the momentum shifted."

And once the Cardinals got the momentum, they weren't about to give it back.

"It was just like something finally clicked and we started playing the way we are capable," said Lester, who got a team-best 18 kills from Roesler and 50 assists and 16 digs from Kiefer in posting its first conference win in five tries. "I don't know what it is, but we play so well in the third, fourth and fifth games, but we struggle early — especially in the first game of matches.

"We've got to find a way to get out of the gates faster — fortunately, we were able to overcome that tonight."