EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team kicks off its 2015 season on the road on Tuesday, as the Cardinals head to UW-Eau Claire for a 7 p.m. nonconference match against the Blugolds.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2014: 20-13 Overall) at UW-Eau Claire Blugolds (2014: 16-17 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Tuesday's match between the Cardinals and Blugolds is the season-opener for both teams.
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Eau Claire—Their Last Meeting:
• October 17, 2014 * Eau Claire, Wis.: Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) dished out a career-high 42 assists, but her effort was not enough, as host UW-Eau Claire picked up back-to-back wins in the third and fourth sets to deal Saint Mary's its second straight 3-1 defeat during the opening day of the UW-Eau Claire Tournament | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the court this weekend, squaring off against UW-La Crosse and Wisconsin Lutheran on Friday, and UW-Stevens Point and Luther on Saturday as part of the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic in Winona, Minn.
• UW-Eau Claire: The Blugolds head to Arden Hills, Minn., this weekend to take part in the Bethel Tournament. UW-EC faces UW-Superior and Concordia on Friday, before meeting St. Olaf and Martin Luther on Saturday.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Cardinals made their second straight appearance in the MIAC volleyball playoffs in 2014, reaching the tournament's semifinal for the second consecutive season. … Saint Mary's has now made 10 post-season appearance in coach Mike Lester's 17-year tenure. … The Cardinals' 20 wins in 2014 marked the second straight year—and eighth time under Lester—than Saint Mary's has posted 20 or more wins in a season. … With their seventh win of the season—a 3-0 victory over UW-Superior on Sept. 19—Lester earned his 300th collegiate coaching win. The Cardinal head coach owns 313 coaching wins in 17 seasons at Saint Mary's. … Saint Mary's boasted a pair of All-MIAC First-Team selections in Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) and Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.). … The Cardinals closed out the season with nine wins in 11 contests at the Saint Mary's Gym. … Thirteen of Saint Mary's 20 wins—including eight of the Cardinals' nine home wins—were 3-0 sweeps. … Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn.) recorded a career-high 19 kills in the Cardinals' 3-1 playoff win over Bethel on Nov. 4. It was the second time this season the then-junior outside hitter recorded a single-match career-high in kills. Sullivan posted a then-career-best 18-kill effort against Northwestern (Minn.) on Oct. 17. …  Sullivan also notched a career-high 23 digs against the University of Chicago on Oct. 10. … Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) closed out the season as the team's kills leader with a career-high 261. Nordick (237), Molly Grover (Zumbrota, Minn. / 220) and Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn. / 204) also eclipsed 200 or more kills this season, while Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn. / 198), Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn. / 187), and Sullivan (177) all surpassed the 100-kill plateau. … Peterson tallied a team- and career-high 23 kills against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 10. … Nordick, who recorded a season-high 15 kills against Augsburg in the team's first meeting on Oct. 25, became the 12th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000 career-kills mark—closing out her career with 1,001. … Nordick also ranks No. 2 all-time in total blocks with 421 (7 shy of record-holder Vicki Wilson) and block assists with 322 (9 back of Wilson). … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa), who posted her top two collegiate assist performances at the UW-Eau Claire Invitational on Oct. 17-18—notching a career-best 42 assists against host UW-Eau Claire, then adding a 36-assist showing against St. Scholastica—closed out the season with a team-best 647 assists, while Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) chipped in 617 helpers. … MacVey recorded a career-best 35-assist performance against North Park on Oct. 11. … Krogstad boasted a team-leading 542 digs—marking the third straight season the junior has recorded 500 or more digs in a season. … Krogstad, who tallied a season-high 28 digs three times last season, posted 20 or more digs in a match 12 times in 2014. … Krogstad currently sits second all-time in digs with 1,603—583 shy of career-leader Theresa Perrini (2,192). … Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) recorded a career-high 20 digs against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 10. … The Cardinals' season-ending MIAC playoff semifinal against Augsburg—ranked No. 25 the first time the two teams met two weeks ago and sitting at No. 19 in their post-season showdown—marked the eighth time this season Saint Mary's squared off against a team that was been ranked in the AVCA Top 25. Saint Mary's also faced nationally ranked foes St. Thomas, Colorado College, Clarkson, Saint Benedict, and the University of Chicago. … The Cardinals finished 12-7 in tournament play this season and are now 28-10 mark in regular-season tournaments over the past two seasons.
 
Scouting The UW-Eau Claire Blugolds:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Blugolds are coming off a 16-17 season a year ago. … UW-EC returns a pair of honorable-mention All-WIAC selections in Katrina Raskie and Kelly Riesgraf. Raskie ranked eighth in the WIAC in kills and 10th in digs, averaging 2.75 kills and 3.41 digs, respectively. Riesgraf, meanwhile, ranked fourth in hitting percentage (.295) and sixth in blocks (0.92). … Raskie, who tallied a team-best 20 kills at UW-Platteville on October 10, finished 2014 with a team-best 333 kills. … Raskie was one of four Blugolds with 200 or more kills a year ago—Alexia Wong (292), Megan Tracy (274), and Riesgraf (259) were the other three. … Jenna Smits accounted for 1,186 of the team's 1,378 assists, while also leading the Blugolds with 37 aces. … UW-Eau Claire boasted five players with 200 or more digs last season, led by Jamie Dimka (501) and Raskie (413). … Riesgraf finished with a team-leading 110 blocks, including a season-high 10 blocks against UW-Stout on October 29. … Eighteen of the Blugolds' 33 matches were decided in three sets—UW-EC was 8-10 in those 18 matches. … The Blugolds boasted a 5-3 mark in four-set matches, while going 3-4 in matches extended the maximum five sets. … UW-Eau Claire won the first set in 12 of its 16 victories in 2014.