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Coach Lester Preview

Tournament Field:
Saint Mary's, Wartburg, Buena Vista, Maryville (Mo.), Nebraska Wesleyan

Tournament Schedule:
Friday, Sept. 10 — Court 1: Buena Vista vs. Nebraska Wesleyan, 3 p.m.; Wartburg vs. Buena Vista, 5 p.m.; Wartburg vs. Maryville 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 10 — Court 2: Saint Mary's vs. Maryville, 5 p.m.; Saint Mary's vs. Nebraska Wesleyan
Saturday, Sept. 11 — Court 1: Nebraska Wesleyan vs. Maryville, 9 a.m.; Wartburg vs. Nebraska Wesleyan, 11 a.m.; Wartburg vs. Saint Mary's, 1 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 11 — Court 2: Saint Mary's vs. Buena Vista, 11 a.m.; Buena Vista vs. Maryville, 1 p.m.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:

The Cardinals are off to an identical start from a year ago — a season-opening loss to Viterbo, followed by four straight wins at the SMU Sugar Loaf Classic. Last year, that start was the beginning of an NCAA Tournament run for the Cardinals. … The Cardinals enter this year's Wartburg Invitational ranked No. 24 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll. … Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) and Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.) each reached the 1,000-kill career milestone during the first week of the season. Gardner enters this weekend boasting 1,059 career kills, while Mate is close behind with 1,016. … Gardner, a First-Team All-MIAC and AVCA All-Central Region selection, while also earning honorable-mention All-American honors a year ago, was named all-tournament and Co-MVP of the Sugar Loaf Classic last weekend. Gardner shared the MVP honor with teammate Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.). … Gardner boasted a team-best 52 kills (3.71 kps) at the Sugar Loaf Classic, while Kujak finished with 47 kills and a team-leading .436 attack percentage. … Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) finished with 144 assists in the Cardinals' four tournament matches last weekend, and enters this weekend with 2,510 career assists, leaving her just two assists shy of Lisa Witt for No. 4 all-time. … Carissa Hahn (Hutchinson, Minn.) collected a career-high 11 kills in SMU's tournament-opening win over St. Scholastica last Friday. … SMU's first three wins at the Sugar Loaf Classic were all by 3-0 scores, while the Cardinals needed to rally from a 2-0 deficit to beat Loras 3-2 in their fourth match. … The Cardinals' 22 wins in 2009 were the most wins in a season since SMU won 28 en route to their first-ever NCAA national tournament appearance in 2000.

Wartburg Knights News and Notes:

Wartburg, picked to win the Iowa Conference in the IIAC Preseason Coaches Poll, kicked off conference play with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Simpson on Wednesday. … The Knights put together a 2-2 mark at the Saint Mary's Sugar Loaf Classic last weekend. … Britlyn Sieck earned all-tournament honors at last weekend's Sugar Loaf Classic, contributing 57 kills (3.8 kps), a .211 attack percentage, 36 digs, two service aces and two block assists. … Kamille Van Natta chipped in 37 kills, while Maddie Forsyth drilled 32 kills and had sparkling .307 attack percentage. … Britlyn Sieck enters the weekend as the team-leader in kills (81 / 3.24 kps) and is hitting .216. … Abby Breitbach and Ramey Sieck have shared the setting load this season, with Breitbach collecting 90 assists, while Sieck has 83. … Two of the Knights' four wins have come in five-setters.

Maryville Saints News and Notes:

The Saints are looking to bounce back from an 0-5 start, as Maryville went 0-4 at the St. Mary's Tournament in San Antonio, Texas, then followed that up with a 3-0 loss to Missouri Baptist on Wednesday. …  Maryville has been swept 3-0 in all five of its losses this season. … Maryville returns 11 players off last years squad, which went 4-24 overall, including 1-13 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. … Julia Greaves collected a team-best 27 kills (2.25 kps) in the Saints' four tournament games last weekend, while Beth Bruemmer added 17 and Ashlee Brockenbrough chipped in 15. … Brockenbrough boasted a team-leading 257 kills (2.62 kps) and 44 total blocks a year ago. … Andi Neff dished out 63 assists during tournament play last weekend, while Samantha Bock had a team-high 38 digs and was one of four Saints with 20 or more digs in the four tournament matches.

Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves News and Notes:

Nebraska Wesleyan pushed its season-opening winning streak to five straight on Tuesday, rolling to a 3-0 victory over Midland Lutheran in the teams' Great Plains Athletic Conference opener. … The Prairie Wolves return four starters and 12 letterwinners off last year's team that finished 18-12 overall and was ranked No. 23 in the final AVCA Top 25. … NWU qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament for the sixth straight season in 2009, advancing to the second round for the second consecutive year. … Laura Brammeier has led the NWU offense, collecting team highs in kills (72 / 4.50 kps), while Hannah Behrens is hitting a team-best .287 and leads the squad in blocks with 15. … Kelsey Elman and Caitlin Anderson have shared the setting duties, with Elman collecting 117 assists, while Anderson had dished out 64 assists. … Elman also leads the team with 11 service aces and 59 digs.

Buena Vista Beaver News and Notes:

Buena Vista picked up its second straight victory on Wednesday, opening Iowa Conference play with a 3-1 win over the University of Dubuque. … The Beavers have been swept 3-0 in each of its two losses this season, while winning 3-1 twice and needing five sets to beat Oberlin (Ohio). … Katie Vondrak, a three-time All-Iowa Conference selection who led the team with 226 kills a year ago, boasts a team-best 64 kills (3.37 kps) through five matches. The senior also has accumulated a team-leading 21 blocks. … Hattie Hartzell has dished out 134 of the team's 181 assists, while McKenzie Moore and Sam Narveson are the team's dig leaders with 71 and 67, respectively.