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GameDay Preview
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — With the Saint Mary's University volleyball team in the midst of a logjam in its quest for one of the conference's six post-season invitations — SMU coach
Mike Lester understands the importance of each of the Cardinals' final three matches.
One slip-up, and the Cardinals could find themselves on the outside looking in.
And if their performance Wednesday evening against St. Olaf is any indication, the Cardinals understand that importance, too.
Fueled by a match-high 20 kills from
Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.), SMU was all business against St. Olaf, cruising to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-22) victory.
Thanks to Wednesday's dominating performance, the Cardinals improved to 5-4 in conference play and head into Saturday's key conference showdown at Gustavus sitting in fifth place in the conference standings behind Concordia (9-0), St. Thomas (8-1), Augsburg (8-1) and Saint Benedict (6-2), while Hamline (4-5), Macalester (4-5) and Bethel (4-5) are all tied for the sixth and final MIAC Tournament berth.
Peterson proved to be a one-woman wrecking crew against the Oles, as the Cardinal sophomore collected 20 of the team's 47 kills, while hitting .385. The performance marked the second time this season Peterson has recorded 20 or more kills, and was just three kills shy of her career-best 23-kill effort against Central (Iowa) on Oct. 4.
Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) — who eclipsed the 1,000-assist mark for the season last Saturday against nationally ranked Augsburg — added 42 assists to her season total against St. Olaf, while
Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) had a team-best 19 digs, with
Jordan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) and
Brooke Schilling (Altura, Minn.) each adding 10.
Taylor Gorder finished with 10 kills, with Kersten Bork tallying 27 assists and Abby Slack recording 25 digs in the losing effort for St. Olaf (1-8 MIAC, 7-18 overall).
With Wednesday's win, SMU improved to 22-7 overall — the Cardinals' highest win total since 2009, when they went 22-10 and reached the NCAA Division III national tournament.
