RIPON, Wis.  — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team takes to the road this weekend, taking part in the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational.

The Tournament Schedule:
Friday, September 21 | Ripon, Wis.
SMU Cardinals (7-2 overall) vs. Lakeland Muskies (6-6 Overall), 6 p.m.
SMU Cardinals vs. Concordia (Wis.) Falcons (3-8 Overall), 8 p.m.
Saturday, September 22 | Ripon, Wis.
SMU Cardinals vs. St. Norbert Green Knights (5-9 overall), 10 a.m.
SMU Cardinals vs. Ripon Red Hawks (7-8 overall), noon

GameDay Live On The Web:
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The Cardinals' Last Action:
SMU got 10 kills from both Molly Grove (Zumbrota, Minn.) and Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.), as the Cardinals opened Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a 3-1 win over Bethel Wednesday evening in Arden Hills, Minn.

SMU vs. Red Hawk Invitational Opponents — Their Last Meeting:
SMU vs. Lakeland | August 30, 2013: SMU kicked off its 2013 season with a sweep of Lakeland during the opening day of the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic. But there was nothing easy about the 3-0 nonconference win. The Cardinals outlasted the Muskies 25-20 in the first set, then rallied from 6-1 and 11-3 deficits to win Set 2 25-22, while completing the season-opening win with a 25-23 victory in the third set.
SMU vs. Concordia (Wis.) | September 8, 2001: It took a little longer than Mike Lester had hoped, but SMU finally picked up its first win of the season, as the Cardinals breezed past Concordia-Wisconsin 3-0 (30-24, 30-19, 30-21) during the second day of the Sugar Loaf Classic.
SMU vs. St. Norbert: Saturday's meeting between the Cardinals and the Green Knights will be the first in program history.
SMU vs. Ripon | September 1, 2007: After losing their second match of the Ripon Invitational, a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to Clarke, coach Mike Lester didn't know how his young squad would respond when they took the court again for the tournament's second day. They responded just fine, thank you. Led by Racquel Reker (Mantorville, Minn.) and Alex Nold (Spring Valley, Minn.), the Cardinals posted a pair of wins — beating Rockford 3-1 and host Ripon 3-0 — en route to the tournament championship.

The Cardinals' Up Next:
The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Tuesday, as SMU heads to St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. showdown against Macalester.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
With their win over Bethel — their second consecutive 3-1 victory — the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to seven. It's their longest winning streak since posting eight straight wins in 2009. … With Wednesday's victory, SMU improved to 4-1 in four-set matches. The Cardinals are also 4-1 in three-setters — SMU has not played a five-set match this season. … Molly Grover (Zumbrota, Minn.) and Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) each posted 10 kills to pace the Cardinals against Bethel Wednesday. … Alex Peterson heads into this weekend's Ripon Red Hawk Invitational as the team leader with 103 kills. … As a team, the Cardinals recorded a season-high 84 digs against the Royals Wednesday — led by Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) with 21. … Krogstad has now posted 20 or more digs four times this season, with her 21-dig effort against Bethel one dig shy of her season-best 22-dig showing against St. Scholastica on Aug. 31. … Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) dished out 33 assists vs. the Royals Wednesday, marking the seventh time in SMU's 10 matches the senior setter has collected 30 or more assists. … Assimos has recorded 40 or more assists twice this season and 22 times in her four-year collegiate career. … Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) has recorded a team-best 18 aces through 10 matches, while Assimos is second with 13. … With their 3-0 win over Lakeland on Aug. 30, the Cardinals won their season-opener for the third straight season. … SMU won the first set against Bethel Wednesday and has now been victorious in Set 1 in 20 of its last 22 wins. … Assimos has been named to the all-tournament team in both tournaments the Cardinals have played in this season — including a tournament MVP performance at the North Park Viking Clash. Krogstad and Peterson also earned all-tournament honors at the North Park Viking Clash.

Scouting The Lakeland Muskies:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
The Muskies come into the weekend on the heels of a 3-1 loss to Edgewood in their home opener Wednesday in Sheboygan, Wis. … When Lakeland squares off against Saint Mary's on Friday, it will mark the third time the Muskies have faced a team from Saint Mary's this season. Lakeland dropped a 3-0 decision to Saint Mary's University on Aug. 30 at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, then fell to St. Mary's College (Ind.) 3-2 on Sept. 14 in Waverly, Iowa. … Katie Freitag notched a team-high 16 kills in the Muskies' loss to Edgewood Wednesday, pushing her team-leading total to 119. … Brittany Reindl has dished out 424 assists in Lakeland's first 12 matches, while also leading the team with 23 aces. … Caleigh Galvan has amassed a team-best 202 digs. … Four of Lakeland's six wins have been 3-0 sweeps. The Muskies have played just one five-set match, falling to St. Mary's College (Ind.) at the Wartburg Quadrangular on Sept. 14.

Scouting The Concordia (Wis.) Falcons:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
The Falcons picked up their third win of the season in impressive fashion on Wednesday, sweeping past MSOE 3-0 in Mequon, Wis. … Concordia's 3-0 win over MSOE Wednesday snapped its season-high eight-match losing streak. … All three of the Falcons' wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps. On the flip side, Concordia has been swept five times, while also dropping both of its five-set matches. … Hannah Griffiths notched a team-best 12 kills vs. MSOE and heads into the weekend boasting a team-high 102 kills. … Griffiths is also the team leader in aces with 10. … Carley Valentine and Karina Klotz have shared the setting duties for the Falcons, with Valentine recording 171 assists in 11 matches, while Klotz is close behind with 149. … Kelsey Paramore and Griffiths have each eclipsed the 100-dig plateau this season, with Paramore owning a team-high 130 digs and Griffiths tallying 109. … With their win over MSOE on Wednesday, the Falcons improved to 3-0 on their home court. Concordia is 0-3 on the road and 0-5 in neutral-site matches.

Scouting The St. Norbert Green Knights:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
The Green Knights have been off since last weekend, when they went 2-2 at the UW-Oshkosh Invitational, beating North Central (3-1) and Concordia (Wis.) (3-0), while falling to Martin Luther (3-2) and Wartburg (3-0). … St. Norbert has not lost more than two straight this season, while the Green Knights have not put together back-to-back wins all season. … Heidi Spies heads into this weekend's Ripon Red Hawk Invitational boasting a team-best 127 kills, with Breanne Brocker also eclipsing the 100-kill plateau at 107. … Abby West and Kaitlin Delahaut have shared the setting duties for the Green Knights, with West dishing out 252 assists, while Delahaut has chipped in 135. … Spies also leads the team with 13 aces, two more than Aubree Antosch. … Antosch is the team-leader in digs with 211, while Brocker (158), Katie Stewart (125), and Hannah Johnshoy (100) have also recorded 100 or more digs this season. … The Green Knights have not played a home match this season — going 1-2 on the road and 4-7 at neutral-site locations. … St. Norbert's 3-2 loss to Martin Luther last Friday was the Green Knights' second five-set match this season. SNC also lost to Milikin 3-2 on Sept. 7. … Three of St. Norbert's five wins have been 3-0 sweeps.

Scouting The Ripon Red Hawks:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
The Red Hawks have been off since last weekend, when they struggled to an 0-4 showing at the UW-Oshkosh Invitational — falling to UW-Stevens Point (3-1), Wartburg (3-0), Martin Luther (3-1) and UW-Oshkosh (3-1). … Ripon's 3-1 loss to UW-Stevens Point in the first match of the UW-Oshkosh Invitational last weekend snapped the Red Hawks' season-high five-match winning streak. … Karlye Wehner has amassed a team-leading 156 kills through Ripon's first 15 matches. She is one of three players with 100 or more kills — Emily Gary (128) and Allison Barnes (127) are the other two. … Gary is also hitting a team-best .296. … Abbi Williamson has accounted for 457 of the team's 540 assists, while Brianne Milroy is the team-leader in aces (15) and digs (245). … Wehner and Williamson have also eclipsed the century mark in digs with 138 and 106, respectively, while Wylie Gahart is just one dig shy at 99. … Ripon heads into this weekend's Red Hawk Invitational a perfect 2-0 on its home court. … Six of Ripon's eight losses have been 3-1 decisions. On the flip side, four of the Red Hawks' seven wins have been 3-0 sweeps. … Ripon has not played a five-set match this season.