ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team has struggled against ranked teams all season.

The Cardinals faced nationally ranked UW-La Crosse during the season-opening UW-La Crosse Invitational, and failed to win a game in falling 3-0.

Two weeks ago, SMU went up against No. 15 St. Benedict and No. 16 Concordia on back-to-back days, and managed to win just one game in losing 3-0 to the Blazers and 3-1 to the Cobbers.

Saturday afternoon, the Cardinals lined up against No. 18 St. Thomas — with the same results. Molli Dant (Forest City, Iowa) led the way for the Cardinals, collecting 10 kills, while Desiree Larson (Blaine, Minn.) tallied 17 digs. Rachelle Dosch tallied a match-high 14 kills for the Tommies.

The Tommies jumped on the Cardinals early and never let up, beating SMU 30-21, 30-12, 30-25.

With the win, St. Thomas improved to a perfect 6-0 in the MIAC — and remained atop the conference standings. SMU, meanwhile, dropped its second straight and sixth in its last seven matches in falling to 1-6 in the MIAC and 5-11 overall.