NAPERVILLE, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team steps out of conference play for the final time this weekend, taking part in the North Central Invitational. SMU will square off against Wheaton and Hope on Friday, before concluding the tournament with matches vs. North Central and Calvin on Saturday.



The Cardinals & Their Opponents:
Saint Mary's Cardinals: 16-6 Overall / VB Homepage
Wheaton Thunder: 12-9 Overall / VB Homepage
Hope Flying Dutch: 14-4 Overall / VB Homepage
North Central Cardinals: 12-12 Overall / VB Homepage
Calvin Knights: 15-3 Overall / VB Homepage

Cardinals' Tournament Schedule:
Friday, Oct. 15: SMU vs. Wheaton, 4 p.m. / SMU vs. Hope, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 16: SMU vs. North Central, 10 a.m. / SMU vs. Calvin, Noon

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats (vs. North Central only) / Coach Lester Preview

Last Action:
The Cardinals came up short in their showdown against conference-leading and nationally ranked St. Olaf on Wednesday, as the Oles came to the SMU Gym and handed SMU a 3-1 MIAC setback. The Cardinals' four tournament opponents, meanwhile are no strangers to each other — having already squared off once this week. Wheaton picked up a home, 3-0 victory over North Central on Tuesday, while Hope cruised past Calvin at home 3-0 on Wednesday.

Last Meeting vs. Tournament Teams:
This weekend's showdowns vs. Hope and Calvin — both teams ranked in the latest AVCA Top 25 — will be the first ever, while SMU and North Central last tangled on Sept. 3, 2005, with the Cardinals coming away with a 3-1 win at the UW-La Crosse Invitational. SMU and Wheaton go back even further, with their last meeting a 3-1 Cardinal win on Sept. 1, 2000 at the Elmhurst Invitational.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
Four of the Cardinals' six losses have come vs. nationally ranked teams — No. 14 St. Thomas, No. 15 St. Olaf, No. 18 Concordia and No. 19 Nebraska Wesleyan. … Two of the SMU's four opponents in this weekend's North Central Invitational are also ranked in the AVCA Top 25 — No. 12 Hope and No. 9 Calvin. … Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.) had a team-high 15 kills vs. St. Olaf Wednesday, while Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) and Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) added 11 and 10 kills, respectively. … Gardner leads four SMU players with 100 or more kills, boasting a team-best 285, while Mate is second with 238, followed by Kujak (199) and Carissa Hahn (Hutchinson, Minn. / 138). … Kujak also leads the team in attack percentage at .301. … Gardner enters this weekend's matches with 1,275 career kills. She currently ranks No. 6 all-time, just 31 kills shy of the No. 5 spot, currently held by Tracy Koertgen. … Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) dished out 36 assists vs. the Oles, giving her 549 for the season and 2,876 for her Cardinal career. Cherwinka currently ranks second all-time program history in career assists. … SMU has five players with 20 or more aces, led by Gardner with 27 and Kujak with 26. … As a team, the Cardinals rank No. 2 in NCAA Division III in kills-per-set (14.02) and are fourth in assists-per-set (12.64). … Nine of the Cardinals' 16 wins have been 3-0 sweeps. SMU is also a perfect 3-0 in five-set matches, thanks to two 3-2 wins over Loras and 3-2 victory over Central-Iowa.

Wheaton Thunder News and Notes:
Tuesday's win over North Central snapped the Thunder's season-high three-match losing streak. … Cassie Murphy collected a double-double in Wheaton's win over North Central Tuesday, recording 11 kills and 14 digs. … Murphy now leads the team in both kills (200) and digs (476). She is also second to Jenna McCallister in attack percentage, hitting .253. McCallister leads the way at .271. … The Thunder boast five players with 100 or more kills and enter the weekend averaging 11.39 kills-per-set. … Along with her 100 kills and team-leading attack percentage, McCallister is also the team leader in assists with 660. … Wheaton has two players — Murphy and Ashlie Pace (428) — with 400 or more digs. … Eight of Wheaton's 12 wins have come on its home court. The Thunder are 4-7 on the road this season. … Wheaton is 5-5 in three-set matches, 6-2 in four-setters and 1-2 in matches that go the maximum five sets.

Hope Flying Dutch News and Notes:
Hope enters the weekend ranked No. 12 in the latest AVCA Top 25. … Wednesday's win over ninth-ranked Calvin — which avenged a 3-1 loss to the Knights on Sept. 11 — was the seventh straight win over the Flying Dutch. … Jacie Fiedler tied a school record for kills in a three-set match with her 17-kill effort vs. Calvin Wednesday. … Fielder leads five Flying Dutch with at least 100 kills, boasting a team-high 207. She is also hitting a team-leading .357. … Greer Bratschie is the team's assist leader with 649, while Jessica Maier owns a team-best 231 digs. She is one of five Hope players with 100 or more digs. … With Wednesday's win over Calvin, the Flying Dutch improved to 7-0 on their home court, while also moving into a tie with Calvin atop the MIAA standings with a 10-1 record. … Ten of Hope's 14 wins have come via 3-0 scores. The Flying Dutch are 3-2 in four-set matches and 1-2 in five-setters.

North Central Cardinal News and Notes:
Tuesday's loss at Wheaton was the second straight for the Cardinals, who are just 1-4 in their last five matches. … Jenae Harner enters the weekend as the team-leader in kills (198). She is one of four Cardinals with 100 or more kills through 22 matches. … Ryan Lally is averaging 9.11 assists-per-set and is just 98 assists shy of 1,000 for the season. … As a team, the Cardinals have amassed 182 aces, led by Jamie Drozd with 29. North Central has eight players with at least 10 aces, including four with 20 or more. … Sarah Eggert is the team's dig leader (347). She is one of six Cardinals with at least 100 digs. … North Central has played just three matches on its home court, going 2-1. … The Cardinals' 12 wins have come via four three-set wins, four four-set wins and four five-set wins.

Calvin Knights News and Notes:
Calvin's 3-0 loss to Hope on Wednesday snapped the Knights' season-high eight-match winning streak. … The Knights have now put together winning streaks of seven and eight matches to account for their 15. … Calvin is a perfect 7-0 on its home cout this season. … Rebecca Kamp is the Knights' offensive leader, boasting a team-high 205 kills, while also hitting a team-best .468. … The Knights have four players with 100 or more kills and are hitting .303 as a team. … Megan Rietema leads the team in assists with 634. She is averaging 10.75 assists-per-set. … Kamp and Kim Start lead the team in aces with 23 and 21, respectively, while Kelly Peterson is the team-leader in digs with 245. … Eleven of Calvin's 15 wins have been 3-0 sweeps. The Knights are also unbeaten in four-set matches (3-0), while going 1-1 in five-set matches.