Match Summary vs. Wheaton / Match Summary vs. Hope
GameDay Preview

NAPERVILLE, ILL. — Saint Mary's University volleyball coach Mike Lester was happy with his team's performance in Friday's 3-0 victory over Wheaton in the opening match of the North Central Tournament.

And the SMU head coach was even more pleased with his team's effort in their second match against 12th-ranked Hope — and the Cardinals lost 3-1.

“I can't fault our performance at all tonight,” said Lester. “We played a pretty solid match (against Wheaton), and then turned around and played very, very well against Hope.

“The Hope match was one of those that, despite what the final score says, could have easily gone either way,” said Lester. “Defensively, we played extremely well. It was one of those matches that we just kept getting better and better with each set.

“Unfortunately, it was just quite enough,” Lester added. “Hope is a very good team — there's a reason they are ranked No. 12 in the country.”

Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) was virtually unstoppable Friday evening, as the junior middle blocker collected 11 kills on 13 attempts without an error against Wheaton, then followed that up with 10 kills on 24 attempts with just one error against Hope.

Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) added 25 kills in SMU's two tournament matches Friday, while Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) dished out 63 assists and Lindsey Legatt (Sartell, Minn.) recorded 41 digs — including 24 against Hope which was one shy of her career best.

“Despite the loss (to Hope), it was a good start to the tournament,” said Lester. “We played very well in both matches, and, hopefully, we can put the same type of effort together (Saturday).”

SMU (17-7 overall) closes out the two-day tournament on Saturday, squaring off against host North Central at 10 a.m., before taking on No. 9 Calvin at noon.