NAPERVILLE, Ill. — For the Saint Mary's University volleyball team, Friday's opening day of the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament started off with a bang—only to have host North Central rain on their parade in the second match of the day.
Saint Mary's kicked off the two-day tournament in impressive fashion, cruising to a 3-1 victory over the University of Chicago—a team currently ranked No. 25 in the latest AVCA Top 25 and coming off a 3-1 win over fourth-ranked Washington (Mo.). The Cardinals won the first two sets 25-22 and 25-23, and, after a slight "hiccup" with a 25-13 Set 3 loss, completed the win with a 25-18 victory in the fourth set.
North Central took control early, and the Cardinals never recovered in falling 3-0. North Central kicked off the three-set sweep with a 25-20 win, outlasted Saint Mary's 27-25 in the second set and completed the sweep with a 25-17 third-set win.
Jenna Sullivan led the way for the Cardinals against the University of Chicago, recording a season-high 14 kills and adding a career-best 23 digs, while
Alex Peterson chipped in 11, and
Molly Urban Macki Fadness each added 10, and
Tayler MacVey and
Brittney Hanson chipped in 25 and 23 assists, respectively.
Peterson collected a team-best nine kills against North Central, while MacVey had 14 assists and Hanson had 12.
Morgan Thomas posted a team-leading seven digs and Sullivan finished with a pair of service errors.
The Cardinals (13-8 overall) close out tournament play on Saturday, squaring off against North Park (11 a.m.) and Wartburg (1 p.m.).
