NAPERVILLE, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team steps out of conference play for the final time this season, as the Cardinals take part in North Central's Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament. SMU squares off against North Park and UW-Oshkosh on Friday, while facing Wheaton (Ill.) and host North Central on Saturday.

The Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament Field:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (17-5 Overall), North Park Vikings (7-11 Overall), UW-Oshkosh Titans (12-6 Overall), Wheaton (Ill.) Thunder (15-6 Overall), North Central (Ill.) Cardinals (8-14 Overall), Finlandia Lions (5-16 Overall), UW-Platteville Pioneers (9-12 Overall)

The Tiffany Robinson Memoral Tournament Schedule:
Friday, October 11, 2013 | Court 1
Wheaton vs. UW-Platteville, 2 p.m. | North Central vs. UW-Platteville, 4 p.m. | Wheaton vs. Finlandia, 6 p.m. | North Central vs. Finlandia, 8 p.m.
Friday, October 11, 2013 | Court 2
Saint Mary's vs. North Park, 4 p.m. | Saint Mary's vs. UW-Oshkosh, 6 p.m. | UW-Oshkosh vs. North Park, 8 p.m.
Saturday, October 12, 2013 | Court 1
Wheaton vs. Saint Mary's, 10 a.m. | North Central vs. Saint Mary's, Noon | Wheaton vs. UW-Oshkosh, 2 p.m. | North Central vs. UW-Oshkosh, 4 p.m.
Saturday, October 12, 2013 | Court 2
UW-Platteville vs. Finlandia, 10 a.m. | North Park vs. UW-Platteville, Noon | North Park vs. Finlandia, 2 p.m.

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats (Court 1 Only) | Tournament Homepage | Video Preview

Cardinals' Last Action:
The Cardinals got 12 kills from Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) and 11 from Molly Grover, as SMU picked up a key 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Hamline Wednesday evening at the SMU Gym.

SMU vs. Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament Opponents — Their Last Meeting:
Vs. North Park — October 15, 2011:
SMU gave coach Mike Lester's heart a bit of a breather in their first match of Day 2 at the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament. After back-to-back, five-set nailbiters to open the tournament — a 3-2 win over Aurora and a 3-2 setback against UW-Whitewater — the Cardinals made things look easy against North Park, cruising to a convincing 3-0 win behind Kara Grant's team-best 13 kills.
Vs. UW-Oshkosh — September 8, 2012:
Less than 24 hours after failing to win a set in falling to UW-Superior and Wartburg during the opening round of the Bethany Lutheran Tournament, SMU got back on the winning track — and did so in impressive fashion. The Cardinals cruised to a 3-1 win over UW-Oshkosh, before taking out host Bethany Lutheran 3-0. Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) led the Cardinals' charge in their opening match against UW-Oshkosh, as the sophomore recorded 13 kills, hit .333 and collected seven blocks.
Vs. Wheaton (Ill.) — October 15, 2010:
Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) was virtually unstoppable, as the junior middle hitter collected 11 kills on 13 attempts without an error in leading the Cardinals to a 3-0 victory over Wheaton at the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament.
Vs. North Central — October 15, 2011:
The Cardinals went the distance for the third time in four tournament matches at the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament, falling to host North Central 3-2 just a day after beating Aurora and falling to UW-Whitewater in 3-2 decisions. Sabrina Bushlack (Mapleton, Minn.) was SMU's heavy hitter against North Central, gathering 16 kills.

Cardinals Up Next:
The Cardinals are off until next Friday and Saturday, when they hit the road for a pair of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matches. SMU squares off against St. Catherine in a 7 p.m. match on Friday in St. Paul, Minn., then head to Minneapolis, Minn., a day later for a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown with conference-leader Augsburg.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
SMU heads into this weekend's Tiffany Robinson Memorial Invitational boasting a 13-2 record in tournament play this season. … Since going 2-2 at the season-opening Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, the Cardinals have rattled off 11 straight tournament wins. … Beginning Friday evening, the Cardinals play eight straight road matches, before closing out the regular season with a Nov. 2 match against defending national champion St. Thomas at the SMU Gym. … With their win against Hamline, the Cardinals improved their record to 8-4 at home — SMU is 9-1 on the road, including 7-0 in neutral-site matches. … The Cardinals' 3-2 win over Hamline Wednesday pushed their winning streak to five straight. … SMU has lost back-to-back matches just once all season. … Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) collected a team-high 12 kills against Hamline Wednesday and has now recorded 10 or more kills in 10 straight matches and 18 times in the Cardinals' 22 matches. … Peterson recorded a career-best 23-kill effort against Central (Iowa) at the Cardinal Invitational on Oct. 4 — the most by a Cardinal this season and the most since Kara Grant recorded 26 kills against Clarke on Sept. 30, 2011. …  With her 12 kills against Hamline, Peterson pushed her team-leading total to 250. Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn.) is second with 183 kills, followed by Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn. / 150) and Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis. / 106). … Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) — who posted a season-high 50 assists against Central (Iowa) on Oct. 4 — notched 41 assists vs. Hamline last Wednesday. … Assimos has now recorded 40 or more assists seven times this season and 27 times in her four-year collegiate career. … Assimos' 50 assists against Central (Iowa) on Oct. 4 were not only a season high, but just three assists shy of her career-best 53-assist effort against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 2, 2011. … Assimos enters the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament with 767 assists and is just 117 assists shy of 3,000 for her collegiate career. … Jordan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) equaled her career best with a team-best 16 digs against Hamline last Wednesday. … Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) heads into the weekend with a team-leading 384 digs. … Krogstad is one of six Cardinals with 100 or more digs — Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill. / 207), Assimos (184), Wolfe (181), Brooke Schilling ( / 107) and Lind ( are the others. … SMU racked up seven aces against Hamline last Wednesday and have now recorded 137 aces this season — led by Thomas with 36. … For the fourth time in as many tournaments, Assimos was named to the all-tournament team at the Cardinal Invitational. Assimos was also named to the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, North Park Viking Clash and Ripon Red Hawk Invitational all-tournament teams this season. Nordick joined Assimos on the Cardinal Invitational all-tournament team. … SMU's 29-27 Set 1 win against Carleton on Oct. 2 was the longest set of the season for the Cardinals. … The Cardinals have won the first set in 15 of their 17 wins and 18 times in 22 matches this season. … Ten of SMU's 16 wins have come via 3-0 sweeps, while the other six wins were four-setters. … The Cardinals' 3-1 loss to Macalester on Sept. 24 snapped their school record-tying 11-match winning streak.

Scouting The North Park Vikings:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
The Vikings head into this weekend's tournament on the heels of a 3-1 loss to Milliken on Wednesday in Decatur, Ill. … North Park recorded a 3-0 win over Moody Bible Institute on Oct. 3, snapping the team's season-high five-match losing streak. … The Vikings have not won a four-set match this season — North Park has recorded four 3-0 sweeps, while also winning three times in five-set matches. On the flip side, seven of the Vikings' 11 losses have been four-set decisions. … Shelby Switzer enters Friday's tournament-opening match against Saint Mary's boasting a team-leading 397 kills, while also hitting a team-best .237. … Neisha Boilan and Hayley Brake have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau this season, owning 154 and 133 kills, respectively. … Abigail McKowen has amassed 682 assists this season, while Switzer leads the team in aces (34) and Alexis Clay has compiled a team-leading 259 digs. … Clay is one of four Vikings with 100 or more digs — Switzer (206), McKowen (136) and Christine Scott (129) are the others. … Four of North Park's seven wins have come on the Vikings' home court. They are 3-8 on the road this season.

Scouting The UW-Oshkosh Titans:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
The Titans have been off since last weekend, when UW-Oshkosh beat UW-River Falls (3-2) and lost to UW-Stout (3-2). … After losing four of their first five matches, the Titans are 11-2 in their last 13 matches. … UW-Oshkosh's 3-0 loss to UW-Stevens Point on Oct. 2 snapped the Titans' season-high 10-match winning streak. … UW-Oshkosh boasts four players with 100 or more kills, led by Katelyn Malcheski with 171. Jordyn Bratel is second with 154 kills, followed by Jessica Fischer (126) and Nerissa Vogt (104). … Allison Tomczyk leads a trio of Titans with 100 or more assists with 354, while Morgan Cizauskas (120) and Alexis Thiel (116) have combined for 236 more. … Hayley Rickmeier and Tomczyk are the team's service ace leaders at 27 and 21 respectively, with Mandy Trautman tallying a team-high 359 digs. … Nine of UW-Oshkosh's 12 wins this season have come on their home court — the Titans are 9-1 in the Kolf Sports Center, while going just 3-5 on the road.

Scouting The Wheaton (Ill.) Thunder:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
The Thunder head into Friday's matches at the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament have just cruised to 3-0 win over North Central on Tuesday. … With their win over North Central Tuesday, Wheaton improved to 5-1 in its last six matches and 11-2 in its last 13. … Since opening the season 1-3, the Thunder have put together winning streaks of three, four and six matches en route to their 15-6 overall record. … Maddie McGinnis and Shelby Knowles are the team's kills leaders, boasting 255 and 204 kills, respectively. … Emily Buyse (132) and Andy DeMoss (101) have also surpassed the 100-kill plateau. … Lauren Wilhite and Ashley Torok have shared the setting duties for the Thunder, posting 470 and 267 assists, respectively. … Along with her 204 kills, Knowles has also recorded a team-best 26 aces. … Wheaton has four players with 200 or more digs this season, led by Kelli Manning's 458. Knowles (281), Samantha Hedlund (264) and McGinnis (223) are the other three. … Twelve of Wheaton's 15 wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps. The Thunder are 2-2 in four-set matches and 1-2 in five-setters. … Five of Wheaton's six losses have come on the road — the Thunder are 7-1 at home and 8-5 on the road.

Scouting The North Central (Ill.) Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
The Cardinals enter tournament play this weekend having gone 1-4 in its last five matches — including a 3-0 loss to Wheaton in its most recent match on Tuesday. … Friday's tournament-opening match against UW-Platteville marks just the third home match of the season for the Cardinals, who fell to Elmhurst (3-0) and Wheaton (3-0) in its only other two home matches thus far. … Kedryn Orrison has accumulated a team-leading 151 kills this season, with Amanda Walker (134) and Danielle Williams (111) close behind. … Laura Kluk has accounted for 570 of the team's 712 assists. … Kluk also leads the team with 21 aces, four more than Orrison, Katie Connolly and Jessie Fiala. … Fiala heads into the weekend as the team's dig leader with 336. Kluk (180), Sarah Eggert (156), Connolly (123) and Williams (103) have also recorded more than 100 digs through 22 matches. … The Cardinals have not played a five-set match this season. North Central is 3-9 in three-set matches and 5-5 in four-setters.