Match Summary vs. Loras /
Match Summary vs. UW-River Falls
GameDay Online /
UW-River Falls Invitational Homepage
RIVER FALLS, Wis. — After three straight matches against repeat opponents — including a 3-2 victory Loras during the first of two matches during the second day of the UW-River Falls Invitational Saturday — the Saint Mary's University volleyball team finally got to play a “new” opponent.
And the Cardinals left a lasting impression.
After dispensing of Loras — and gaining a bit of revenge for the 3-1 loss to the Duhawks during the second day of the Jefferson's Sugar Loaf Classic on Sept. 6 — the Cardinals completed their perfect run through the two-day tournament, dropping the host Falcons 3-1.
“Anytime you can go 4-0 in a tournament, it's great,” said SMU coach
Mike Lester, whose team opened the tournament with 3-1 victories over Macalester and Viterbo. “The key for us all weekend was our passing — we passed very well all weekend, and that was the difference. Against Loras, we only gave up two aces, and against River Falls, we weren't aced at all. When you can do that, you are going to be successful, no matter who you play.”
Nothing came easy for SMU against Loras, as the two teams traded sets through the first four sets — with the Cardinals winnings Sets 1 (26-24) and 3 (25-20), while the Duhawks were victorious in Sets 2 (25-23) and 4 (25-22). In the decisive fifth set, SMU took control, rolling to a 15-7 victory.
The Falcons quickly brought the Cardinals back down to earth following their five-set marathon, winning the first set 25-22. SMU regained its composure — and took control of the match — winning three straight, 25-15, 25-18, 25-20 to ice the tournament title.
Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) and
Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.) led the way for SMU, collecting 33 and 32 kills, respectively, in the Cardinals' two Saturday matches.
Courtney Runge (St. James, Minn.) added 13 kills vs. Loras and 22 digs against UW-River Falls, while
Theresa Perrini (Fairway, Kan.) finished with 70 digs and
Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) dished out 91 assists.
Jessica Larson (Pine Island, Minn.) was a one-woman blocking machine, posting a season-best 13 blocks in SMU's match vs. Loras, then adding six more against UW-River Falls.
“We needed a weekend like this,” said Lester, whose team closes out its season with five straight conference matches, beginning Wednesday at St. Thomas, and concluding with four straight home matches. “We entered this weekend on a bit of a low (having lost three straight MIAC matches) and, hopefully, this weekend will give us the momentum that we needed as we head into crunch time in the conference.”
