NAPERVILLE, Ill.  — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team steps out of conference play for the final time this season on Friday and Saturday, taking part in the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament, hosted by North Central College.



The Cardinals Matchups:
Friday, Oct. 14, 2011:
4:00: SMU Cardinals (13-10 Overall) vs. Aurora Spartans (5-19 Overall)
8:00: SMU Cardinals vs. UW-Whitewater Warhawks (16-5)
Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011:
10:00: SMU Cardinals vs. North Park Vikings (10-10 Overall)
Noon: SMU Cardinals vs. North Central Cardinals (11-10 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Video Preview | Tournament Homepage

Cardinals' Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped a heartbreaker on Wednesday, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to force a fifth set, only to come up short, 22-20, in falling to league-leading Bethel 3-2 at the SMU Gym.

Cardinals at North Central Tournament — A Year Ago:
SMU went 2-2 at the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament last season, beating Wheaton (3-0) and North Central (3-0), while falling to Hope (3-1) and Calvin (3-0).

Cardinals vs. Aurora — Their Last Meeting:
Friday's match will be the first meeting between the Cardinals and the Spartans.

Cardinals vs. UW-Whitewater — Their Last Meeting:
Oct. 4, 2002: It's been nine years since SMU and UW-Whitewater squared off during the first day of the Simpson Tournament in Indianola, Iowa, with the Warhawks coming away with a 3-0 win.

Cardinals vs. North Park — Their Last Meeting:
Sept. 2, 2000: The Cardinals and the Vikings last met during the second day of the Elmhurst Tournament, with SMU cruising to a 3-0 victory.

Cardinals vs. North Central — Their Last Meeting:
Oct. 16, 2010: Sarah Gardner collected 15 kills, while Jessica Mate added 12 and Brittany Cherwinka dished out 30 assists, as the Cardinals swept North Central 3-0 in last year's Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament.

Cardinals Up Next:
The Cardinals return to conference play next Friday and Saturday, traveling to St. Thomas for a 7 p.m. conference match in St. Paul, Minn., on Friday, then head across town for a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown with Hamline on Saturday.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
The Cardinals enter this weekend's final regular-season tournament having gone 3-1 in each of its first four tourneys. … The Cardinals are now 25-7 in their last seven regular-season tournaments. … Wednesday's 3-2 loss to league-leading Bethel was the ninth time this season the Cardinals have gone the maximum five sets. SMU is now 4-5 in those five-setters. … SMU's 3-0 loss to No. 9 Concordia on Oct. 8 marked the first time this season the Cardinals have been swept. The Cardinals had been a perfect 6-0 in three-setters prior to that match. … SMU's 22-20 Set 5 loss to Bethel Wednesday was the highest-scoring fifth set in the last 15 years. … Kara Grant (Peosta, Iowa) recorded a team-high 20 kills vs. Bethel Wednesday. It was the 20th time in the Cardinals' 23 matches that the freshman outside hitter was recorded 10 or more kills. It was also the sixth time Grant has posted 20 or more kills this season. … Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) posted a career-high 15 kills against the Royals Wednesday. … SMU boasted five players with 10 or more digs against Bethel Wednesday, led by Tara Rasmussen's (Kasson, Minn.) 23 digs. … Grant enters this weekend's play with a team-high 348 kills, with Nordick second at 192. … Sabrina Bushlack (Mapleton, Minn. / 147) and Carissa Hahn (Hutchinson, Minn. / 108) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau this season. … Fueled by a .538 attack percentage vs. Bethel, Nordick is hitting a team-high .280. … Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) dished out 49 assists vs. Bethel Wednesday. … Assimos leads the team with 760 assists, while Rasmussen's 309 digs are a team high. … SMU has three players with 200 or more digs — Rasmussen, Erika Hurley (Chatfield, Minn. / 281) and Cathy Rennie (Pine Island, Minn. / 232) — while Grant (172) and Assimos (162) give the Cardinals five players with 100 or more digs. … Rennie leads the team with 28 aces, with Rasmussen second with 23. … Nine of SMU's 13 wins have come on the road. The Cardinals are 4-5 on their home court. … SMU has won the first set in 12 of its 13 victories this season. … The Cardinals set a pair of single-match records in the rally scoring era in their 3-0 victory over Finlandia on Sept. 2. SMU held the Lions to a record-low four points in their Set 3, 25-4 win, while the Cardinals' 19 service aces were also a single-match record.

Aurora Spartans News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
The Spartans enter this weekend's tournament on the heels of a 3-1 loss at Milwuakee School of Engineering. … The Spartans' loss to MSOE was their fourth straight and sixth in their last eight matches. … Three of Aurora's five wins this season have come on the road, where the Spartans are 3-13. Aurora is 2-6 on their home court. … Emilee Mitchell has accumulated a team-high 179 kills this season. Cami Alexander (156) and Brittany Budimier (110) give the Spartans a trio of players with 100 or more kills through 24 matches. … Alexis O'Boyle has accounted for 700 of the team's 734 assists this season. … O'Boyle also leads the team with 35 aces, while Jessica Barney owns the team lead in digs with 251. … Courtney Geisler has chipped in 238 digs, while Kelly Coleman (148), O'Boyle (141) and Alexander (136) have all eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Three of Aurora's five wins have come by 3-2 scores, while the Spartans are just 1-8 in matches decided in both three and four sets.

UW-Whitewater Warhawks News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
The Warhawks — ranked No. 23 in the latest AVCA Top 25 — enter tournament play riding the momentum of a 3-0 victory over UW-Platteville Tuesday. … With Tuesday's win, the Warhawks are now 8-1 in their last nine matches, with the lone blemish a 3-0 loss at Elmhurst on Oct. 6. … All five of UW-Whitewater's losses have come on the road, where the Warhawks are 6-5. UW-W is a perfect 10-0 on its home court. … UW-Whitewater has four players who have recorded 100 or more kills this season, led by Sofia Sanchez's team-best 238. Leanna Lilge (166), Alivia Holman (150) and Ariel Johnston (102) are the other three. … Heidi Buss is the team's assist leader with 653 helpers, while Kim Frel has dished out 111 assists. … UW-Whitewater has amassed 126 aces this season, led by Kelli Trautmann with 34 and Sanchez with 25. … Along with her 34 aces, Trautmann owns a team-best 348 digs, while Kelsey Nobilio (257) and Alyssa Bauer (239) give the Warhawks three players with 200 or more digs. … All five of the Warhawks' losses this season have been 3-0 sweeps. UW-Whitewater is 6-0 in matches that go four sets, and 1-0 in five-setters.

North Park Vikings News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
North Park heads into tournament play in the midst of a two-match losing streak, including a 3-1 loss to Illinois Wesleyan in Chicago, Ill., Tuesday. … With their two most recent losses, the Vikings are now 1-5 in their last six contests. … Nine of North Park's 10 wins have come on the road (9-5), while the Vikings are just 2-3 on their home court. … Shelby Switzer is the team's kill leader with 261, while Tricia Ivanoff (130) and Tara Spell (103) give North Park three players with 100 or more kills. … Aurora Johansen is the team's lead in assists with 422. The Vikings have also gotten 97 assists from Heather Ksiazek. … Johansen and Julie Bakken lead the team in aces with 21 and 20, respectively, with Danielle Waldvogel boasting a team-high 376 digs. … Switzer (212) and Jessica Holmes (200) give North Park three players with 200 or more digs, while Bakken (15) and Johansen (139) have eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … North Park is 6-6 in three-set matches, 3-3 in four-set matches, and 1-1 in five-setters.

North Central Cardinals News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
The host Cardinals enter Friday's tournament-opening matches having  climbed above the .500 mark for the season with Tuesday's 3-1 win over Augustana. … Tuesday's win also snapped the Cardinals' season-high three-match losing streak. … Nine of North Central's 11 wins have been on the road, where the Cardinals are 9-7. North Central is 2-3 on its home court heading into this weekend's home tourney. … The Cardinals have three players who have accounted for 536 of the team's 826 kills, led by Crystal Wright with 193. Jenae Harner has chipped in 183 kills, while Amber Ladwig owns 160 kills. … Wright is also hitting a team-high .268. … Ryan Lally and Allison Kereven have done the majority of the setting for the Cardinals, with Lally compiling 518 assists, with Kereven chipping in 143. … The Cardinals have recorded 115 aces through 21 matches, led by Harner with 21 and Ladwig with 17. … Harner also boasts a team-best 187 digs, two more than Sarah Eggert. … North Central has seven players with 100 or more digs. … Six of the Cardinals' 11 wins have come in four sets. North Central is 4-5 in three-setters and 1-2 in matches going the maximum five sets.