WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team kicks off the home portion of its 2015 schedule this weekend, as the Cardinals host the seven-team Sugar Loaf Classic.
 
The Sugar Loaf Classic Field:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2014: 20-13 Overall), UW-La Crosse Eagles (2014: 9-18 Overall), St. Norbert Green Knights (2014: 16-14 Overall), No. 4 UW-Stevens Point Pointers (2014: 33-5 Overall), Wisconsin Lutheran Knights (2014: 2-23 Overall), Lakeland Muskies (2014: 17-17 Overall), Luther Norse (2014: 12-16 Overall),
 
The Sugar Loaf Classic Schedule:
Friday, September 4, 2015 • Gostomski Fieldhouse • Winona, Minn.
• Court 1: Saint Mary's vs. UW-La Crosse, 2 p.m. | UW-La Crosse vs. St. Norbert, 4 p.m. | Saint Mary's vs. Wisconsin Lutheran, 6 p.m. | Lakeland vs. St. Norbert, 8 p.m.
• Court 2: UW-Stevens Point vs. Wisconsin Lutheran, 4 p.m. | Lakeland vs. Luther, 6 p.m. | UW-Stevens Point vs. Luther, 8 p.m.
Saturday, September 5, 2015 • Gostomski Fieldhouse • Winona, Minn.
• Court 1: UW-Stevens Point vs. Lakeland, 10 a.m. | Saint Mary's vs. UW-Stevens Point, Noon | Lakeland vs. UW-La Crosse, 2 p.m. | Saint Mary's vs. Luther, 4 p.m.
• Court 2: Wisconsin Lutheran vs. St. Norbert, 10 a.m. | Wisconsin Lutheran vs. UW-La Crosse, Noon | Luther vs. St. Norbert, 2 p.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats (Court 1 * Court 2) | Tournament Homepage | Program | Video Preview
 
Last Action:
• The Cardinals are coming off a 3-1 nonconference victory over UW-Eau Claire on Tuesday, while this weekend's matches are the season opener for the other six teams competing.
 
Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic—A Year Ago:
Scoreboard & Results
 
Saint Mary's vs. Sugar Loaf Classic Opponents—Their Last Meetings:
• vs. UW-La Crosse—September 10, 2014: Saint Mary's got off to a quick start in its nonconference match against UW-La Crosse, winning the first and third sets. That, however, would be the extent of the Cardinals' success, as UW-La Crosse rallied from that 2-1 deficit with a 25-18 win in Set 4, then outlasted Saint Mary's 15-13 in the fifth and decisive set to earn the 3-2 victory at Mitchell Hall in La Crosse, Wis. | Recap
• vs. UW-Stevens Point—October 13, 2012: The last time Saint Mary's squared off against UW-Stevens Point, the end result was a 3-1 Cardinal victory. That was four years ago. The Cardinals and Pointers squared off again during the second day of the UW-Stout Invitational—and once again the match ended in a 3-1 decision. This time around, however, it was the Pointers who came out on top, jumping out to convincing 25-16 and 25-19 wins in the first two sets en route to the 3-1 (25-16, 25-19, 26-28, 25-23) nonconference victory | Recap
• vs. Luther—August 31, 2013:  The Norse took advantage of Saint Mary's slow start, cruising to wins of 25-12 and 25-17 in the first two sets, then completed the 3-0 sweep of the Cardinals by rattling off the set's last eight points to break a 17-17 deadlock and secure their second straight 25-17 win during the second day of the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic | Recap
• vs. Wisconsin Lutheran: Friday's match against the Knights will be the first meeting in program history.
 
Cardinals Up Next:
• Saint Mary's heads to Dubuque, Iowa, next weekend to take part in the Loras Invitational. Saint Mary's will face UW-Platteville and Loras on Friday, before taking on Wheaton (Ill.) and UW-Stout on Saturday.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
With their 3-1 win over UW-Eau Claire on Tuesday, the Cardinals are now 5-0 in their last five season openers. … Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.)—who closed out 2014 as the team's kills leader with a career-high 261—and Cassidy Bittle (Winona, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals against UW-Eau Claire Tuesday, each collecting 13 kills and hitting over .400. … Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) dished out a team-high 13 assists vs. the Blugolds, while Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn.) and Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) led the team with 10 and nine digs, respectively. … Krogstad boasted a team-leading 542 digs in 2014—marking the third straight season the junior has recorded 500 or more digs in a season. … Krogstad currently sits second all-time in digs with 1,612—574 shy of career-leader Theresa Perrini (2,192). … The Cardinals finished 12-7 in tournament play last season and are now 28-10 in regular-season tournaments over the past two seasons. … 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—that Saint Mary's has posted 20 or more wins in a season.
 
Scouting The UW-La Crosse Eagles:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Eagles are coming off a 9-18 season in 2014, that included a 1-7 showing in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. … The Eagles return a pair of honorable-mention All-WIAC selections in Leah Putzier and Jill Entinger. … Putzier led UW-L with 218 kills (2.76 kps) a year ago. … Missing six matches due to injury, Putzier recorded double-digit kills in 10 of the 21 matches she played in 2014. … Putzier recorded a season-high 20 kills vs. UW-Superior on Oct. 10, while recording 18 against Luther just a week earlier. Putzier also had 17 kills vs. Wartburg on Aug. 29 and vs. Luther on Sept. 19. …  A three-year letterwinner, Putzier led UW-L with 33 aces, while finishing second on the team with 219 digs (2.77 dps). … Entinger did not miss a match—or a set—last season, leading UW-L with a .274 hitting percentage. Entinger finished second to Putzier with 198 kills (1.98 kps), while leading the team with 67 blocks. … Courtney Geisler accumulated a team-best 353 digs—and was one of seven Eagles with 100 or more digs. … UW-La Crosse earned five of its nine wins via 3-0 sweeps, while adding four, five-set victories. The Eagles did not win a four-set match last season, going 0-5. … Seven of the Eagles' nine wins came in neutral-site matches. UW-L was 1-7 at home and 1-7 on the road, while going 7-4 in matches held at neutral sites. 
 
Scouting The UW-Stevens Point Pointers:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Pointers are coming off a 33-5 season in 2014, including a 7-1 run through the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. … The Pointers have won four consecutive WIAC championships and have advanced to the national semifinals in each of the last two seasons. … UW-Stevens Point closed out 2014 ranked No. 4 in the final AVCA national poll. … The Pointers put together a season-high 21-match winning streak in reaching the NCAA national tournament semifinals a year ago, where they fell to Emory 3-1. … The Pointers enter the 2015 season without the services of graduated senior standouts Alexis Hartman and Sarah Breuer. … Hartman finished her four-year career as the program's all-time leader in assists with 5,152—more than 700 more than any other player. Her 1,469 assists in 2014 rank second all-time to the school-record 1,512 helpers she amassed during the 2013 campaign. …  Hartman also closed out her career ranked fourth all-time in total blocks (432) and registered 556 career kills. … Breuer concluded her career with 508 kills and 286 digs. … Hartman and Breuer make up the winningest senior class in school history with a record of 123-26 and were part of four-straight WIAC Championship and NCAA Tournament teams. … Emma Brunkhorst tallied a team-leading 418 kills last season, good for the fifth-most by a UWSP player in a single season, while also giving her an even 1,000 for her career. … Brunkhorst is the sixth Pointers' player to hit the 1,000-kill milestone. … Brunkhorst was one of five Pointers to record at least 200 kills last season. … Hannah Picel led the team with 649 digs—ranking fourth in a single season—and she now sits second on the career list with 1,856 digs. … As a team, the Pointers recorded 160 service aces, led by Marie Krengel (30) and Hartman (29). … Twenty-four of the Pointers' 33 wins in 2014 were 3-0 sweeps. UWSP was also 3-3 in four-set matches and 6-1 in five-setters. … UW-Stevens Point won the first set in 30 of its 38 matches, while going 31-7 in the second set and 32-6 in the third. … The Pointers finished a perfect 9-0 on their home court, while going 24-5 away from Berg Gym.
 
Scouting The Luther Norse:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
Luther heads to Winona, Minn., coming off a 12-16 season in 2014 that included a 1-6 mark in Iowa Athletic Conference play. … The Norse enter the 2015 campaign without the services of graduated senior Leah Broderick, a first-team All-IIAC selection. Broderick led Luther, producing a team best 326 kills (3.02 kps). … Broderick also led the team with 89 total blocks, including 16 solo. … Broderick was one of four Luther players with 200 or more kills—Kelsey Sorensen (235), Natalee Johnson (228), and McKinzy Lohberger (225) were the other three. … Lindsey Ryan accounted for 947 of the team's 1,133 assists last season, while Lohberger and Taylor Gaide shared the team lead with 30 aces each. … Luther boasted four players with 200 or more digs, led by Gaide's team-high 500. … Luther collected five three-set wins in 2014, while adding six four-set victories and one five-setter. … Ten of Luther's 16 losses came in four-set matches. … Luther went 4-3 on its home court in 2014, while going 8-13 on the road.
 
Scouting The Wisconsin Lutheran Knights:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Knights are looking to improve on last season's 2-23 overall finish, which included a 1-10 mark in Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference play. … Wisconsin Lutheran's 3-0 win over Alverno on Oct. 18 snapped the Knights' season-opening 18-match losing streak. … Haley Feucht closed out the 2014 season as the team-leader with 274 kills (3.11 kps). … Feucht and Nicole Kilpstein (127) were the only Knights to finish the year with more than 100 kills. … Alexis Hafemeister accounted for 644 of the team's 742 assists a year ago, while also sharing the team lead in aces (20) with Megan Wierzbicki. … Wierzbicki recorded a team-best 428 digs, while Andrea Hafemeister (204), Feucht (173), and Jeni Polzin (170) also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Wisconsin Lutheran suffered 14 3-0 losses, while also dropping all three of its five-set matches. … The Knights finished 1-9 on their home courts, while going 1-14 away from the Recreation Complex in Milwaukee, Wis.
 
Scouting The Lakeland Muskies:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
Lakeland closed out the 2014 season with a 17-17 overall record, including a 7-4 showing in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. … With their 17 wins in 2014, the Muskies have now won at least 17 matches in each of their last three seasons. … Lakeland made its fourth straight appearance in the NACC Tournament, falling to xxxxx in the conference semifinals. … The Muskies—who owned a season-high six-match winning streak—closed out the regular season having won eight of their final 10 matches. … Allison Errthum compiled a team-high 298 kills (2.55 kps), while Kathy Flanagan (248) and Jenna Ward (211) also surpassed the 200-kill plateau. … Taylor Levitt accounted for 1,027 of the team's 1,188 assists. … Caleigh Galvan—the NACC Defensive Player of the Year—broke her own single-season school record with 706 digs in 2014. … Galvan also moved into second playce all time in digs with 1,587—she enters 2015 just 295 digs shy of the school-record 1,882 career digs, held by Brittanie Paulus. … As a team, the Muskies compiled 225 service aces, led by Galvan (44) and Levitt (42). … Eleven of Lakeland's 17 wins were three-set sweeps, while 10 of the Muskies' 17 losses also came in three sets. … Lakeland finished 5-6 in four-set matches, and went 1-1 in its two five-set affairs. … The Muskies lost just once on their home court last season (6-1).
 
Scouting The St. Norbert Green Knights:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
St. Norbert is coming off a 16-14 season in 2014 that included an 8-1 record and second-place regular-season finish in the Midwest Conference. … St. Norbert has won MWC titles and participated in NCAA Division III Tournaments in 2008, 2009 and 2011. The Green Knights have reached the Midwest Conference Tournament championship match in each of the last seven seasons—including a 3-1 loss to Cornell a year ago. … St. Norbert heads into the 2015 season without the services off All-MWC first-teamers Heidi Spies and Breanne Brocker, who both graduated. … Spies led the Green Nights with 309 kills (2.83 kps), four more than Brocker (305 / 2.80 kps). The duo was two of four St. Norbert players who recorded 100 or more kills—Hannah Johnson (287) and Anika Johnson (147) were the other two. … Kaitlin Delahaut dished out a team-leading 957 assists, while Spies owned a team-high 40 service aces, four more than Delahaut. … Aubree Antiosch amassed a team-best 544 digs and was one of six Green Knights with 100 or more digs in 30 matches. … St. Norbert compiled an 8-7 record in three-set matches, and finished 7-4 in four-setters. SNC was just 1-3 in matches that went the maximum five sets. … St. Norbert finished 2014 5-2 on its home court and 11-12 away from Schuldes Sports Center.