Summary vs. Centre /
Summary vs. Elmhurst
ELMHURST, Ill. — It wasn't an exact duplicate of the night before, but it was close enough for coach
Mike Lester and the Saint Mary's University volleyball team.
Less than 24 hours after posting back-to-back 3-0 victories over Transylvania (Ky.) and Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham during Friday's opening round of the Elmhurst Tournament, the Cardinals picked up right where they left off, once again picking up back-to-back wins — and once again by identical scores.
SMU opened Saturday's action with a 3-1, 25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 25-12 over Centre, then followed that up with a second straight 3-1 win, this time a 25-13, 20-25, 26-24, 26-24 triumph over host Elmhurst.
"This was a good tournament for us — a good start to the season," said Lester. "We came out and played really well (on Friday), and put together two more solid performances (Saturday). We knew Centre and Elmhurst were going to be very tough opponents, and I thought everyone stepped up to the challenge."
Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) was the Cardinals' offensive leader Saturday, collecting 13 kills and 14 digs against Centre, then following that up with a 14-kill, 12-dig effort against Elmhurst.
Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) — who hammered out 25 kills in SMU's two Friday wins — finished with 22 kills Saturday, while #Courtney Runge
(St. James, Minn.) tallied 24 kills and 42 digs.
Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) dished out 95 assists in the Cardinals' two games, including her first career 50-assist performance — a 52-assist effort against Elmhurst — to earn all-tournament honors.
"It's always nice to get your season off on the right foot," said Lester, whose team returns to action Wednesday, traveling to La Crosse, Wis., to take on UW-Stevens Point and Viterbo. "I think this team showed me a lot this weekend."
