Box Score 1 | Box Score 2  | GameDay Prorgram

MENOMONIE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team kicked off its final regular-season tournament in impressive fashion Friday afternoon, as the Cardinals opened the UW-Stout Invitational with a 3-1 victory over UW-River Falls.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Friday's second match didn't go quite as well, as St. Catherine avenged an earlier 3-2 loss to the Cardinals with a 3-2 victory.

Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) and Molly Grover (Zumbrota, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals against UW-River Falls, racking up 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) finished with 42 assists — marking the third time this season the junior setter has eclipsed the 40-assist plateau — while Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) delivered a team-high 21 digs. Carissa Hahn (Hutchinson, Minn.) nine kills and 16 digs, with Tara Rasmussen tallying 10 digs.

Grover was the team's kill leader against St. Catherine, as the sophomore recorded 13 kills, while Nordick finished with nine and Janae Fry (Burr Ridge, Ill.) chipped in eight. Cathy Rennie (Pine Island, Minn.) dished out 21 assists, with Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) chipping in 15. Krogstad was again the team's dig leader, posting a career-best 32 digs, while Megan Schulz (Andover, Minn.) finished with 17.

The Cardinals (12-9 overall) are back in action on Saturday, taking on UW-Stevens Point (noon) and UW-Stout (2 p.m.) in the second day of the two-day UW-Stout Invitational.