WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team, which kicked off its season with a nonconference match against Viterbo on Wednesday, plays host to the eight-team Sugar Loaf Classic Friday and Saturday, Sept. 3-4 in the Gostomski Fieldhouse.
Tournament Field:
Saint Mary's, Luther Knights, St. Catherine Wildcats, Augsburg Auggies, Loras Duhawks, St. Scholastica Saints, Wartburg Knights, UW-Stout Blue Devils.
Tournament Schedule:
Friday, Sept. 3 — Court 1: Luther vs. St. Catherine, 2 p.m.; Saint Mary's vs. St. Scholastica, 4 p.m.; St. Catherine vs. St. Scholastica, 6 p.m.; Saint Mary's vs. Luther, 8 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 3 — Court 2: Augsburg vs. Wartburg, 2 p.m.; Loras vs. UW-Stout, 4 p.m.; Augsburg vs. Loras, 6 p.m.; Wartburg vs. UW-Stout, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 4 — Court 1: Augsburg vs. St. Scholastica, 10 a.m.; Saint Mary's vs. UW-Stout, Noon; Augsburg vs. UW-Stout, 2 p.m.; Saint Mary's vs. Loras, 4 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 4 — Court 2: Loras vs. St. Catherine, 10 a.m.; Luther vs. Wartburg, Noon; Luther vs. St. Scholastica, 2 p.m.; Wartburg vs. St. Catherine, 4 p.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
The Cardinals enter this year's Sugar Loaf Classic ranked No. 24 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll. … Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) — a First-Team All-MIAC and AVCA All-Central Region selection, while also earning honorable-mention All-American honors a year ago — eclipsed the 1,000-kill mark for her career on Wednesday, tallying 17 kills vs. the V-Hawks to give her 1,007 for her illustrious four-year career. … Jessica Mate (St. Charles, lll.), also a First-Team All-MIAC selection in 2009 (for the second year in a row), inched closer to joining Gardner at that 1,000-kill plateau, also notching 17 kills vs. Viterbo to give her 969 career kills. … 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. … Brittany Cherwinka# (Faribault, Minn.), who collected 1,187 assists a year ago and entered the year with 2,327 for her three-year career, picked up right where she left off against the V-Hawks Wednesday, dishing out 39 assists.
UW-Stout Blue Devils News and Notes:
The Blue Devils won eight of their first 11 matches a year ago, before struggling during WIAC play and settling for a 14-19 overall record. … The Blue Devils return six sophomores from last year's squad — they had eight freshman on last year's team. … Steph Nichols and Kim Labat are the lone seniors on this year's team. … The Blue Devils return their top three hitters from a year ago in Kate Mikutowski (350 kills, 2.94 kps), Steph Nichols (247 kills, 2.11 kps) and Hope Weilage (213 kills, 1.87 kps). … In her first three seasons, Nichols played all three hitter positions — middle hitter as a freshman, outside hitter as a sophomore and right side hitter as a junior. … Only five of UW-Stout's 34 matches went the maximum five sets — the Blue Devils were 2-3 in those five-setters.
St. Catherine Wildcats News and Notes:
In 2009, the Wildcats finished 18-12 overall a year ago — including a 6-5 mark and a fourth-place finish in the MIAC. … St. Catherine's 18 wins a year ago were the most since the 1993 season. … The Sugar Loaf Classic is a homecoming of sorts for first-year head coach Corey Phelps, who previously had served as SMU coach Mike Lester's assistant. … SCU returns five starters, its libero and 11 letterwinners from last year's squad. … Nina Lindquist was named MIAC Rookie of the Year in 2009, setting a St. Catherine single-season record with 1,159 assists. … Nicole Neumann also set a single-season school record a year ago, collecting 565 digs. … Megan Ahlbrecht is coming off her second straight 300-plus kill season in 2009. She finished with a team-leading 369 kills and was one of two SCU players with 300 or more kills. Megan Ahlbrecht is the other, finishing with 300.
Wartburg Knights News and Notes:
Wartburg opened its 2010 campaign with a non-conference clash at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids Sept. 1. This weekend's visit to the Sugar Loaf Classic is the first weekend tournament of the season for head coach Jennifer Walker's team. … The Knights were recently picked as the preseason Iowa Conference favorites in the annual coaches poll. Wartburg earned 66 points and five first-place votes. Luther was slated second (58 points - two first place votes), and Simpson was picked third (56 points - one first-place vote). … Wartburg returns two all-conference performers (Brityln Sieck and Sofie Swift) and six starters from last year's squad, which finished 18-17 overall and 6-2 in the IIAC. … Sieck collected a team-leading 469 kills and turned in a .237 attack percentage — both of ranking in Wartburg's top six all-time single season efforts. … Swift, meanwhile, pounded 255 kills, registered a sparkling .275 attack percentage, and recorded 119 blocks a year ago. … Britney Hermsen returns after producing 1,218 assists, the fifth-best single-season effort at Wartburg, in 2009.
St. Scholastica Saints News and Notes:
CSS finished the regular season in the top three in the UMAC for the 11th time under head coach Dana Moore in 2009 and stunned regular-season champion Northwestern College to capture the program's third UMAC Tournament title. … The Saints return 2009 UMAC Rookie of the Year Paige Hardy and honorable mention setter Sarah Kurtovich, but lost three quality senior leaders in Taryn McCue, Megan Baartman, and Rebecca Udermann. … Hardy finished her freshman campaign with a team-leading 355 kills (3.01 kps). … Coach Moore bolstered her roster in the offseason with the addition of UM-Duluth sophomore transfer Anna Zyvoloski, who finished second on the Bulldogs in kills (322) as a freshman. … The Saints edged defending regular-season conference champion Northwestern College for the top spot in this year's preseason coaches' poll. … The Saints will face five NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago.
Luther Norse News and Notes:
Luther returns two starters and six letterwinners from last season's 26-12 team that tied for second in the IIAC with a 6-2 mark and advanced to the NCAA Division III National Championships for the first time in school history. … Taylor Hjerleid, who became the starting setter midway through 2009, recorded 905 assists to move into 10th all-time at Luther. Her 8.86 assist-per-set average ranked fifth in the IIAC a year ago. Hjerleid also tallied 44 kills, 18 service aces, 314 digs, and 20 blocks in 2009. Amanda Dietel chipped in 347 assists, 26 kills and 7 service aces last season. … Lindsey Weaver recorded a team-high 381 digs and 22 service aces in 2009 and enters 2010 in eighth place on Luther's career digs list with 712. … Emily Ellson led the Iowa Conference in service aces last season with 54. She paired that with 113 kills and 77 blocks. … Cindy Fredrick enters her first season as Luther's head coach, after spending 23 years coaching at the NCAA Division I level at Washington State University (1989-2004) and the University of Iowa (2004-2008), where she compiled a career mark of 410-324.
Augsburg Auggies News and Notes:
The Auggies are coming off one of their best seasons ever in 2009, when they compiled a 17-14 overall record and finished fourth in the MIAC. … Katie Christensen led the Auggies offensive attack a year ago, collecting 304 kills (2.69 kps), and currently ranks seventh in school history in career kills per set, with an average of 2.34. … Amanda Unze finished last season with 249 kills (2.33 kps), and had the highest hitting percentage among MIAC freshmen in 2009. Unze also finished second on the team last season in block assists with 55. … The Auggies held a 4-2 advantage in matches decided in four sets, and were 5-4 in five-set matches.
Loras Duhawks News and Notes:
Loras went 13-21 a year ago, including a 5-3 record and a fifth-place finish in IIAC play. … Julianne Lord and Brittney Westermeyer were Loras' All-Iowa Conference selections in 2009. Westermeyer was a first-team selection, while Lord was named to the second team. … Morgan Murphy and Kate Russell, each All-IIAC picks in 2008 on the Duhawks' Iowa Conference championship winning team, return to the roster in 2010 after a year away from the team in 2009. … Julie Rogers and Regan Riley joined Lord and Westermeyer in last year's starting lineup. … Loras' 2009 leaders in kills (Westermeyer, 344), blocks (Westermeyer, 119), and assists (Lord, 1,046) are back in 2010. … The Duhawks went 6-9 on neutral courts in 2009. … Loras will host the Iowa/Minnesota Border Battle for the second straight year on October 1-2 in the Athletic & Wellness Center in Dubuque, Iowa.
