WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team, coming off a perfect 4-0 run through the North Park Viking Clash last weekend, returns home Wednesday, hosting UW-La Crosse in a 7 p.m. nonconference match at the SMU Gym.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-2 overall) vs. UW-La Crosse Eagles (4-4 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped just one set in cruising to the title at last weekend's North Park Viking Clash in Chicago, Ill. SMU beat Marian (3-0) and Aurora (3-1) on Friday, then following that up with wins over Dennison (3-0) and Manchester (3-0) on Saturday. … UW-La Crosse struggled to a 1-3 showing at the Augsburg Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn., last weekend. The Eagles opened with a 3-2 win against Wartburg on Friday, but then came up empty in 3-0 losses to Northwestern, Augsburg and St. Thomas.

SMU vs. UW-La Crosse — A Year Ago:
September 5, 2012: SMU won the opening set in all three of its wins at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic. In their lone loss — a 3-1 setback to Nebraska Wesleyan — the Cardinals were on the short end of a 25-18 Set 1 setback. The Cardinals opened their nonconference match against UW-La Crosse with a 25-22 win — which left SMU coach Mike Lester hoping the history of last weekend's season-opening Sugar Loaf Classic would repeat itself. UW-La Crosse, however, had other ideas, as the Eagles swept the next three sets — 25-19, 25-19, 25-22 — to beat the Cardinals 3-1 in La Crosse, Wis.
October 6, 2013: SMU squared off against UW-La Crosse for the second time this season during the second day of the UW-Platteville Invitational. Fortunately for the Cardinals, the rematch had a much more favorable outcome, as SMU avenged that 3-1 nonconference loss to the Eagles on Sept. 5 with an impressive 3-0 victory during the second day of the UW-Platteville Invitational.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are off until next Wednesday, when SMU kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on the road, traveling to Arden Hills, Minn., for a 7 p.m. match against Bethel. … UW-La Crosse is also off until next Wednesday, when the Eagles travel to Whitewater, Wis., for a WIAC-opening match against UW-Whitewater.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
With their 4-0 run in winning the North Park Viking Clash, the Cardinals extended their winning streak to five straight. … SMU boasted three players on the North Park Viking Clash All-Tournament Team — including tournament MVP Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.). Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) and Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) joined Assimos on the all-tournament team. … Assimos — who has now been named to the all-tournament team in both of SMU's tournaments this season — dished out 125 assists (9.62 aps), while adding 13 kills, 10 aces, 32 digs and nine blocks en route to her tournament MVP honor. … Assimos has now recorded 30 or more assists in five of the Cardinals' eight matches — and has reached the 40-assist plateau 22 times in her four-year collegiate career. … Peterson collected a team-leading 46 kills (3.54 kps) in SMU's four tournament matches last weekend — including 13 against Dennison and 14 against Manchester — the top two performances of her collegiate career. … Peterson enters Wednesday's match against UW-La Crosse with a team-high 85 kills, while also adding five blocks. … Krogstad — the team's dig leader with 502 as a freshman a year ago — posted 60 digs and 10 assists in four tournament matches last weekend. The sophomore leads the team with 120 digs through eight matches. … With their 3-0 win over Lakeland, the Cardinals won their season-opener for the third straight season. … SMU won the first set in three of its four victories at the North Park Viking Clash and have now been victorious in Set 1 in 18 of their last 20 wins. … Four of SMU's six wins this season have been by 3-0 sweeps — the Cardinals have yet to play a match that's gone five sets.

Scouting The UW-La Crosse Eagles:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
The Eagles head into Wednesday's match against Saint Mary's in the midst of a three-match losing streak — with all three matches 3-0 sweeps. … Saint Mary's is the third of five MIAC opponents for the Eagles, who have already lost to Augsburg (3-0) and St. Thomas (3-0), and still have Gustavus and Augsburg left on their schedule. … Wednesday's match at Saint Mary's is the ninth straight road match for the Eagles, who do not play at home until Sept. 20, when they host Luther in a 7 p.m. contest. … Crystal Ziegler — who was named to the Augsburg Invitational all-tournament team after recording 40 kills, 25 digs and seven blocks — enters Wednesday's match vs. SMU boasting a team-best 91 kills (3.25 kps), while Jill Entinger has 60 kills and owns a team-leading .343 attack percentage. … Cassie Raduka is the team's assist leader with 285 helpers and Courtney Geisler has put together a team-high 102 digs. … Lauren Probst has amassed 12 of the team's 33 service aces. … Five of the Eagles' eight matches have been decided in three sets. … UW-L beat Wartburg 3-2 last Friday in the Eagles' lone five-set match this season.