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NAPERVILLE, Ill. — For the fifth time in as many tournaments, the Saint Mary's University volleyball team got off to a roaring start Friday evening, as the Cardinals cruised to a 3-1 victory over North Park to kick off the North Central (Ill.) Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament.

And while it took five sets, the Cardinals' second match had the same favorable outcome, as SMU beat UW-Oshkosh 3-2 to head into Saturday's final day of the two-day tournament with a perfect 2-0 record.

After cruising to 25-10 and 25-18 wins in the first two sets against North Park, the Cardinals hit a bit of a bump in the road with a 27-25 setback in the third set. But SMU was right back at full speed in the fourth set, winning 25-13 Set 4 win to seal the victory over the Vikings.

Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals against North Park, collecting 14 kills, while Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) chipped in 10 kills and hit  .364. Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.), who tallied five kills on seven attempts without an error (.714), also dished out 37 assists and recorded team-highs in aces (3) and digs (13). Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) and Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) also finished in double figures in digs with 12 and 11, respectively.

The Cardinals rebounded from a 25-20 loss in the opening set against UW-Oshkosh, winning Set 2, 25-23, then took a 2-1 lead by outlasting the Titans 29-27 in Set 3, only to lose the fourth set 25-23. But in the fifth and deciding set, it was all SMU, as the Cardinals cruised to a 15-9 victory.

Peterson and Lind shared the team lead in kills for SMU with 16 each, while Assimos eclipsed the 50-assist mark with 51 helpers and Krogstad recorded 28 digs, leading four SMU players with 10 or more digs.

The Cardinals (19-5) — who have won 13 straight tournament matches — are back in action on Saturday, squaring off against Wheaton (Ill.) and host North Central during the final day of the Tiffany Robinson Tournament.