INDIANOLA, Iowa — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team, coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Augsburg in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener on Wednesday, are back in action Friday and Saturday, traveling to Indianola, Iowa, to take part in the Simpson Invitational.

Last Action: The Cardinals kicked off conference play on Wednesday, coming up just short in falling to Augsburg 3-2 at the SMU Gym. Nebraska Wesleyan is also coming off a weekday loss, having fallen to Hastings (Neb.) 3-1 on Tuesday. Simpson defeated Loras 3-1 in an Iowa Conference match Tuesday, while Northwestern has been off since going 2-2 at the Augsburg Tournament last weekend.

Last Meetings: Friday's tournament-opener vs. Nebraska Wesleyan will be the second time in as many weekends that the Cardinals and Prairie Wolves have faced each other. SMU beat NWU 3-0 last Saturday at the Wartburg Tournament. SMU and Simpson faced each other during last year's Wartburg Tournament, with the Storm coming away with a 3-0 victory. SMU and Northwestern, meanwhile, have not met since the 2006 season, when the Eagles handed the Cardinals a 3-1 setback.

Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: Wednesday's loss to Augsburg snapped the Cardinals' eight-match winning streak. The streak was the fourth-longest in program history. … SMU and Augsburg have now gone the maximum five sets in each of their last three meetings. … Courtney Runge (St. James, Minn.) — who earned MIAC Hitter of the Week honors after collecting a double-double (kills and digs) in all four matches as the Cardinals went 4-0 at the Wartburg Invitational last weekend — picked up right where she left off against Augsburg, posting 16 kills and 10 digs vs. the Auggies. The senior outside hitter, who leads the team with 119 kills (3.32 kps), has recorded at least 10 kills and 10 digs in seven of the team's 10 matches — including the last six straight. … Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) posted a team-leading 17 kills vs. the Auggies Wednesday, while Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) dished out a season-high 50 assists and #Tara Rasmussen equaled her career high with 27 digs. … Cherwinka's 50 assists were two shy of her career-best and marked the fourth time in her career the senior setter has recorded at least 50 assists. … SMU has won the first set in each of its eight wins, while dropping the opening set in both losses. … SMU is 4-0 in three-set matches.

Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves Notes: After opening the season with six wins in its first seven matches, NWU has lost two of its last three — including last Friday's 3-0 loss to Saint Mary's. … Tuesday's loss to Hastings was the first home match of the season for the Prairie Wolves, who opened with nine straight road matches. … Laura Brammeier has been the Prairie Wolves' offensive leader, boasting team bests in kills (159), kills-per-set (4.08) and attack percentage (.292). … Brittny Barber has also eclipsed 100 kills through the team's first 10 matches with 112. … Ashley Jedlicka has recorded a team-best 369 assists, while Erika Goldsmith leads the team with 220 digs. … The Prairie Wolves, who were picked to finish seventh in the 2009 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, return four starters and seven letterwinners off a 2008 squad that finished 20-10 overall and 10-6 in the GPAC. The 10 GPAC wins were the most conference wins in school history. … The Prairie Wolves qualified for the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the fifth straight season in 2008, advancing to the second round for the first time since 2002.

Simpson Storm Notes: After dropping their first three matches to open the season, the Storm have stormed back to win three straight, including Tuesday's 3-1 win over Loras. … Friday's match vs. Saint Mary's will be the third time Simpson has faced an MIAC opponent this season. The Storm split a pair of matches vs. Saint Benedict — losing 3-0 and winning 3-2 at the season-opening Puget Sound Tournament. … Whitney Oviatt and Lara Gillespie lead the team in kills with 66 and 61, respectively, while Gillespie is also hitting a team-leading .292. … Tara Christensen has dished out 226 of the team's 256 assists. … Brittany Friesth boasts a team-best 80 digs, with Gillespie close behind with 70. … Simpson, which boasts six NCAA Division III national championships, seven Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season championships and five IIAC tournament titles, is the coaches' pick to win the 2009 IIAC title. The Storm received seven first-place votes and a second-place vote, totaling 71 points in the IIAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll. 

Northwestern Eagle Notes: After dropping back-to-back 3-1 decisions to Saint Benedict and St. Olaf, the Eagles have won three of their last five decisions. … Northwestern has played five of its seven matches against MIAC foes, going 2-3 — winning 3-1 vs. both Carleton and Macalester, falling 3-1 to St. Olaf and losing twice to Saint Benedict (3-1 and 3-0). … After opening the season with a home match vs. Saint Benedict, the Eagles are in the midst of 12 straight road matches. … Steph Koth, an NCAA/AVCA All-American honorable mention selection a year ago, leads the team with 80 kills (3.08 kps). Sister Chelsea Koth is second with 71 kills (2.73 kps). … Three of Northwestern's four losses this season are to Top 25 teams. … Northwestern tends to run a 6-2 with Hillary Slagter and Leah Kostek as the setters. Slagter leads the team with 137 assists, while Kostek has chipped in 106. … Danielle Rhodes, who has posted 20-plus digs in two matches this season, leads the Eagles with 114 digs.