WINONA, Minn. — After a rather sluggish season opener in a 3-1 loss to Viterbo last Tuesday, the Saint Mary's University volleyball team showed more of their true colors Friday during the opening day of the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic at SMU's Gostomski Fieldhouse.

Showing no ill effects from that opening-day loss to the V-Hawks, the Cardinals made quick work of both Loras and Milwaukee School of Engineering Friday, rolling past the Duhawks in three straight (25-15, 25-16, 25-16), while rolling past the Raiders in four sets (25-19, 25-11, 21-25, 25-10).

“That was much more like the way I expect us to play,” said Lester. “I thought we were much more in sync, we just played much better.

“It was obvious watching us play (Tuesday) that that was our first match of the season,” Lester added. “Tonight, we were much more relaxed and played closer to our capabilities. We've still got a lot of work ahead of us, but this was a much better all-around performance.”

Courtney Runge (St. James, Minn.) led the Cardinals' charge in their three-set sweep of Loras, collecting a match high 11 kills and adding 11 digs, while Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) and Jessica Larson (Pine Island, Minn.) chipped in nine kills each. Kujak also hit a team- and match-best .583, with Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) dishing out 34 assists and Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn.) recording 10 digs.

Lester had the luxury of emptying his bench against MSOE, with Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) leading the offensive attack with 14 kills and a .357 attack percentage. Kujak tallied 10 kills and Larson chipped in nine, while Rachel Monterastelli (Wonder Lake, Ill.) collected 42 sets and 15 digs.

“This was a good start (to the tournament) for us,” said Lester, whose team will face Luther (10 a.m.) and UW-River Falls (2 p.m.) in Saturday's final day of the two-day event. “We were able to get everyone some playing time — and that experience is going to be key for us throughout the season — and I thought overall we played fairly well.