NAPERVILLE, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team steps out of conference play for the final time this weekend, taking part in the North Central (Ill.) Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament.
 
The Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament Field:
North Central Cardinals (14-8 Overall), Saint Mary's Cardinals (15-3 Overall), Robert Morris Eagles (6-15 Overall), Purdue University-North Central Panthers (5-14 Overall), Loras Duhawks (11-9 Overall), Coe Kohawks (13-8 Overall), Carthage Lady Reds (16-3 Overall), Washington (Mo.) University Bears (18-1 Overall)
 
The Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament Schedule:
Friday, October 9, 2015 • Naperville, Ill.
• Court 1: North Central v. Robert Morris, 2:00; Robert Morris v. Coe, 4:00; North Central v. Saint Mary's, 6:00; Saint Mary's v. Coe, 8:00
• Court 2: Carthage v. Purdue-North Central, 2:00; Purdue-North Central v. Loras; Carthage v. Washington (Mo.), 6:00; Washington (Mo.) v. Loras, 8:00
Saturday, October 10, 2015 • Naperville, Ill.
• Court 1: North Central v. Purdue-North Central, 9:00; Purdue-North Central v. Robert Morris, 11:00; North Central v. Loras, 1:00; Loras v. Robert Morris, 3:00
• Court 2: Carthage v. Saint Mary's, 9:00; Washington (Mo.) v. Saint Mary's, 11:00; Carthage v. Coe, 1:00; Coe v. Washington (Mo.), 3:00
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats (Court 1 * Court 2) | Tournament Homepage
 
Saint Mary's Last Action:
• It took a little longer than coach Mike Lester probably would have liked, but the Cardinals came away with a hard-fought, 3-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athleitc Conference win over St. Olaf Wednesday at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's at Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament—A Year Ago:
• September 19-20, 2014: The Cardinals recorded a 3-1 mark during the two-day tournament, posting wins over nationally ranked University of Chicago (3-1), North Park (3-0) and Wartburg (3-0), while dropping a 3-0 decision to host North Central  | Day 1 Recap * Day 2 Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament Opponents—Their Last Meetings:
• vs. North Central—October 10, 2014: For Saint Mary's, the 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.). North Central, however, took the air out of the Cardinals balloon, taking control early, and the Cardinals never recovered in falling 3-0 | Recap
• vs. Coe—October 5, 2012: If Saint Mary's was intimidated by Coe's gaudy nine-match winning streak, the Cardinal certainly didn't show it. The Cardinals raced out to a 25-9 win in the opening set and never looked back, handing the Kohawks a 3-1 setback in Saint Mary's first match of the two-day UW-Platteville Invitational | Recap
• vs. Carthage—September 9, 2005: After five straight matches on the road, Saint Mary's finally got to play a match on their own home floor. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, things didn't go quite the way coach Mike Lester would have scripted it. Carthage rode the 15-kill, .591 attach percentage to a 3-0 (30-26, 30-23, 33-31) victory over the Cardinals in the opening match of the Sugar Loaf Classic | Recap
• vs. Washington (Mo.) University—November 13, 2009: For the second day in a row, Saint Mary's squared off against a team they had never faced before. Unlike their NCAA National Tournament opener against Thomas More, however, Washington University's reputation preceded them. The Cardinals knew all about the Bears' gaudy NCAA Tournament accolades—how could they not, with those nine national championship banners staring down at them from the Fieldhouse rafters. What the Cardinals didn't know, was how to stop WU's high-octane offense, led by Erin Albers, as the Bears improved to 81-12 in NCAA Tournament play—including 35-2 at home—with a 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-18, 25-22 NCAA Central Regional semifinal win over Saint Mary's | Recap
 
Cardinals Up Next:
• The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, hosting Augsburg in a 7 p.m. showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
• With their 3-2 win over St. Olaf Wednesday, the Cardinals improved to 16-3 overall—marking the best 19-match start to the season in program history. … The Cardinals' 3-2 loss to Saint Benedict on Oct. 2 snapped the Cardinals' season-high seven-match winning streak. … The Cardinals have not lost back-to-back matches all season. … Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) delivered a team-high 17 kills vs. St. Olaf Wednesday. The 17 kills were one shy of Peterson's season high. … Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) chipped in 13 kills vs. the Oles Wednesday and has now recorded 10 or more kills in 15 of the team's 19 matches. … Fadness, who has recorded a season- and career-high 18 kills three times this season, leads the team with 232 kills. … Fadness is one of five Cardinals who have eclipsed the 100-kill plateau this season—Peterson (160), Cassidy Bittle (Winona, Minn. / 151), Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn. / 151), and Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn. / 117) are the others. … Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.) banged out a career-high 15 kills to pace the Cardinals against Saint Benedict on Oct. 2. … Urban's 14-kill effort vs. the Saint Benedict on Oct. 2 were a career high. … Brittney Hansen (Janesville, Iowa) and Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) each finished with 20 or more assists vs. St. Olaf Wednesday—Hansen recorded a team-best 29 helpers, with MacVey chipping in 20. … Hanson added 10 digs to her 29-assist effort vs. the Oles in earning the sophomore her first double-double of the season. … MacVey notched season-highs of 29 assists and 17 digs vs. Saint Benedict on Oct. 2 for her team-leading fifth double-double of the season—one more than Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn.). … Hanson, who posted a season-high 31 assists vs. Saint Benedict on Oct. 2, heading into tournament play with a team-best 391 assists, 41 more than MacVey. … Hanson has recorded 20 or more assists 13 times this season, while MacVey has reached the 20-assist plateau 10 times. … Saint Mary's had a season-high three players with 10 or more assists against Hamline on Sept. 23—MacVey dished out a team-high 21 helpers, followed by Hanson with 20 and Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) with 10. … Sullivan equaled her season high with a team-best 22 digs against St. Olaf Wednesday. The senior also posted a 22-dig night against Wisconsin Lutheran on Sept. 4. … The 22 digs were one shy of Sullivan's career-high 23-dig showing against the University of Chicago on Oct. 10, 2014. … Sullivan has recorded 10 or more digs in 16 of the team's 19 matches. … Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.) posted career-bests in assists (17) and digs (12) en route to her first collegiate double-double against St. Thomas on Sept. 26. … Krogstad posted her first double-double of the season vs. Hamline on Sept. 23, notching 16 digs and 11 assists. … Krogstad, who equaled her career-high with 36 digs against St. Norbert on Sept. 18, has collected 339 digs through 19 matches and is second all-time with 1,942 career digs—240 digs shy of school record-holder Theresa Perrini. … Saint Mary's win over St. Olaf Wednesday was just its third five-set match of the season—the Cardinals beat Loras 3-2 on Sept. 14 and fell to Saint Benedict 3-2 on Oct. 2. … The Cardinals are 7-1 in both three- and four-set matches, while going 2-1 in five-setters. … With their 3-1 win over St. Thomas on Sept. 26, Saint Mary's snapped a 14-match losing streak against the Tommies, dating back to a 3-1 triumph on Oct. 2, 2002—also on the Tommies' home court. … With their 4-0 showing at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational, the Cardinals have now gone 10-2 in their three regular-season tournaments this season. … With their 3-1 win over UW-Eau Claire on Sept. 1, the Cardinals are now 5-0 in their last five season openers.
 
Scouting The North Central Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
• The Cardinals head into tournament play on the heels of a 3-0 loss to 11th-ranked Carthage last Tuesday. … Tuesday's loss to the Lady Reds was North Central's fifth straight setback. … North Central's setback vs. Carthage was also North Central's second straight 3-0 loss. … Nine of the Cardinals' 14 wins have been 3-0 sweeps, while North Central has been swept in five of its eight losses. … North Central has played four four-set matches this season, winning three of them. … Cara Howell owns a team-leading 247 kills through 22 matches. She is one of five Cardinals with 100 or more kills—Julie Laugel (161), Amanda Walker (154), Claire Vrabec (131), and Anna Billman (100) are the others. … Laura Kluk has amassed a team-high 525 assists, with Ashley Powers chipping in 229. … North Central boasts 147 services aces this season, led by Olivia Hanley (30), Howell (27), and Laugel (24). … Jill Galovic owns a team-best 363 digs, while Hanley (157), Kluk (134), and Howell (125) have all eclipsed the 100-dig barrier. … North Central is a perfect 3-0 on its home court, while going 3-2 on the road and 8-6 in neutral-site contests.
 
Scouting The Coe Kohawks:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
• Coe heads into the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament on the heels of a 3-1 loss to Wartburg on Wednesday. … Wednesday's setback was the second straight 3-1 defeat for the Kohawks, who dropped a 3-1 decision to Loras on Sept. 29. … Coe boasts five players with 100 or more kills, including two—Brianna Smith (284) and Olivia Lelsinger (202)—with 200 or more. Lauren Himan (169), Lindsey Koch (151), and Mackenzie Harbaugh (140) also own more than 100 kills this season. … Meghan McClimon owns 796 of the team's 987 assists, while Harbaugh has accounted for 44 of the Kohawks' 116 service aces. … The Kohawks boast seven players with 100 or more digs—led by Ali Arns with 346 and Madi Miller with 264. … Six of Coe's 13 wins have been 3-0 sweeps. On the flip side, the Kohawks have only been swept twice. … Coe is 3-3 in four-set matches and 4-2 in matches that have gone the maximum five sets.
 
Scouting The Carthage Lady Reds:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
• The Lady Reds head into tournament play ranked No. 11 in the latest AVCA Top 25. … Carthage collected its third straight win last Tuesday, dropping North Central 3-0. … The Lady Reds' current three-match winning streak is its third extended win streak of the season—Carthage has also put together winning streaks of eight and four matches. … Emily Hauermann owns a team-best 236 kills. She is one of three Lady Red players with 100 or more kills this season—Stephanie Korbakes (178) and Jaime Dickinson (152) are the other two. … Karen Chin has accounted for 724 of the team's 850 assists this season. … Chin is also the team-leader in aces with 28, 11 more than Rachael Kisten. … Carthage boasts four players with 100 or more digs, led by Krenzke with 305 and Chin with 169. … With their win over North Central Tuesday, Carthage improved to 9-1 in three-set matches this season. Two of the Lady Reds' three losses have come in four sets, while Carthage is a perfect 3-0 in five-set matches.
 
Scouting The Washington (Mo.) Bears:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
• The Bears boast the No. 1 ranking in the latest AVCA Top 25. … Washington (Mo.) heads into this weekend's Tiffany Robinson Invitational riding a six–match winning streak. … The Bears' 3-1 loss to ninth-ranked Cal Lutheran on Sept. 19 snapped their season-opening 12-match winning streak. … Washington (Mo.) has faced six nationally ranked teams thus far this season, going 5-1. The Bears have beaten No. 14 Elmhurst (3-1), No. 10 Claremont-Mudd Scripps (3-2), No. 2 Calvin (3-0), No. 23 Illinois Wesleyan (3-0), and No. 15 University of Chicago (3-1), while losing to No. 9 Cal Lutheran (3-1). The Bears face their seventh nationally ranked team on Friday, squaring off against 11th-ranked Carthage. … Caroline Dupont is one of five Bears with 100 or more kills, compiling a team-best 200 kills, while hitting a whopping .447. … Alex Sheredy (185), Jackie Nelligan (185), Nikru Udenze (167), and Amanda Palucki (151) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau. … Allison Zastrow has accounted for 784 of the team's 901 assists this season. … Washington (Mo.) owns 97 services aces, led by Sherdy with 27 and Dupont with 18. … Sheredy and Udenze have both recorded more than 300 digs this season—Sheredy has a team-high 342, with Udenze close behind with 327. … Washington (Mo.) is a perfect 11-0 in three-set matches. The Bears, 5-1 in four-setters, have played two five-set matches, winning both. … The Bears returned three AVCA All-Americans—Dupont, Nelligan, and Kalehua Katagiri—from last year's 35-6 team. … Washington (Mo.) has qualified for the NCAA national tournament every year since 1987—a span of 27 straight appearances—winning the Division III national title a record 10 times, the last coming in 2009. … Washington (Mo.) is 96-19 all-time in the NCAA tournament