WHITEWATER, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team has faced some very good teams through its first 15 matches of the season.
 
But none could even hold a candle to Saturday's first opponent — host UW-Whitewater.
 
The Warhawks entered Day 2 of their home UW-Whitewater Invitational sporting a resume that included a near-perfect 9-1 record — a mark that included a season-opening eight-match winning streak — not to mention a lofty No. 8 ranking in the latest AVCA Top 25 Poll.
 
And UW-Whitewater proved to be very ungracious hosts when the Cardinals took the court, dealing Saint Mary's a 3-0 setback — the Warhawks' seventh sweep among their 10 wins. SMU hung close with the mighty Warhawks in the opening set, before falling 25-21, but the Warhawks flexed their muscles in the second and third sets, posting back-to-back 25-12 victories to seal the win.
 
The Cardinals did not fare any better in their second match of the day, as Carthage dealt SMU its second straight 3-0 setback, opening the match with a back-to-back 25-21 victories, and icing the victory with a 25-19 win in Set 3.
 
Bella Stein (Prior Lake, Minn.) recorded a team-best five kills for the Cardinals against UW-Whitewater, one more than Braidyn Ruetten (Holmen, Wis.), Faith Van Erp (Sartell, Minn.), and Elise Amerongen (Lake Elmo, Minn.), while Mandy Schmidt (Mitchell, S.D.) dished out 11 assists, and DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) and Hannah Skroch (Savage, Minn.) chipped in 13 and 10 digs, respectively.
 
Van Erp was the Cardinals' offensive leader against Carthage, collecting 10 kills, with Amerongen and Ruetten chipped in seven kills each. Schmidt and Larkin Clem (Elk River, Minn.) each recorded 13 assists and Baab once again led the team in digs with 13.
 
The Cardinals (5-12 overall) are now off until Friday, when they finally — after 16 straight road matches — get to open the home portion of their schedule, entertaining St. Scholastica in a 7 p.m. conference matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.