WINONA, Minn. — Before the season started, Saint Mary's University volleyball coach
Mike Lester admitted that he wasn't really sure just where his Cardinals would fit when the dust finally settled in the chase for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title.
After Tuesday's season-opening loss to Viterbo, Lester probably figured his team looked like a sixth- or seventh-place team at best.
After watching his Cardinals sweep through the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic — including 3-0 and 3-1 wins against Luther and UW-River Falls on Saturday — Lester is probably figuring his squad could realistically make a run at the conference's top rung.
Especially considering that SMU and fellow MIAC member St. Thomas finished the two-day, nine-tournament tournament atop the field at 4-0.
“It was a good tournament,” understated Lester, whose team dropped just two sets in their four tournament matches, while sweeping regional foes Loras — an NCAA tournament participant a year ago — and Luther. “Those wins over Loras and Luther are huge, regional wins for us. Add to that the face that River Falls is another tough opponent, and I'm very pleased with the way we performed.”
He should be.
As a team, the Cardinals hit .316 for the tournament, getting a tournament-best 40 kills from Courtney Runge (St. James, Minn.), while Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) chipped in 39 and Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) had 37. Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) dished out 107 assists, while Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn.) finished with 52 digs.
“We got some great play from a number of different players,” said Lester, noting that Runge and Gardner were both named to the all-tournament team. “Offensively, we were very sharp, which is good to see.
“We've still got some things we need to work on, but at this stage in the season, I really like where we are at.”
The Cardinals dominated the opening set vs. Luther, scoring 15 of the final 16 points in cruising to the 25-11 win. Things weren't quite as easy in Sets 2 and3, however, as SMU broke away late in both, using a 5-2 run to break a 20-20 tie in the second set, then scoring four of the final five points to snap a 21-21 deadlock in the third.
Kujak posted a team-best 11 kills and hit .556 against the Norse, while Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) added 10 kills. Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.) and Runge each knocked down nine kills, while Cherwinka finished with 35 assists and a team-leading three aces.
The Cardinals had little trouble winning Set 1 against UW-River Falls, rolling to a 25-18 victory, and were it not for a 25-21 stumble in Set 2, SMU would have posted its second sweep of the day. SMU rebounded from that second “fall” in convincing fashion, routing the Falcons 25-12 and 25-16 to close out the tournament.
Mate led three Cardinals with 10 or more kills with 14, while Runge finished with 12 and Gardner tallied 10. Cherwinka recorded 38 assists and Kujak collected six blocks.
“We needed a weekend like this,” said Lester, whose team returns to action next weekend, traveling to Waverly, Iowa, to take part in the Wartburg Invitational. “We were all a little down after the way we played (last Tuesday vs. Viterbo), but we bounced back nicely and showed just what we are capable of doing when we play up to our abilities.”
