Match Summary vs. Beloit /
Match Summary vs. Clarke /
GameDay Online
RIPON, Wis. — It was a good news, bad news start of the season for the Saint Mary's University volleyball team Friday evening.
The Cardinals kicked off their season in impressive fashion, rolling to a 3-0 (30-24, 30-22, 30-27) victory over Beloit College in the opening match of the Ripon Invitational. Things didn't go quite as well in the Cardinals' second match, as the Cardinals dropped a heart-breaking, 3-2 (30-24, 26-30, 30-22, 24-30, 15-12) setback at the hands of Clarke.
"It was one of those starts — there were some good points, and some bad points," said SMU coach
Mike Lester. "We really didn't play all that well in the first match, but we did what we had to do to get the job done.
"And in the second match, it was a match that could have gone either way, we just weren't able to make the plays when we needed them.
"This is definitely a very young team, but I'm not about to play the 'we are inexperienced' card," Lester added. "Obviously, the early part of this season is going to be a learning experience, but hopefully we can just keep making positive strides each time we take the court — if we can do that, we're going to be all right."
