WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team kicks off its 2017 schedule this weekend, hosting the annual Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic at the Gostomski Fieldhouse.
 
The Sugar Loaf Classic Field:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 24-5 Overall), Central-Iowa Dutch (2016: 14-15 Overall), University of Chicago Maroons (2016: 18-11 Overall), Ripon Red Hawks (2016: 17-9 Overall), UM-Morris Cougars (2016: 16-15 Overall), Carthage Lady Reds (2016: 18-13 Overall), Luther Norse (2016: 21-8 Overall), UW-Stout Blue Devils (2016: 15-14 Overall)
 
The Sugar Loaf Classic Schedule:
Friday, September 1, 2017 * Court 1 | Live Stats
• Saint Mary's vs. UM-Morris, 2 p.m. | UW-Stout vs. Carthage, 4 p.m. | Saint Mary's vs. UW-Stout, 6 p.m. | Carthage vs. Central-Iowa, 8 p.m.
Friday, September 1, 2017 * Court 2 | Live Stats
• Ripon vs. Central-Iowa, 2 p.m. | Luther vs. U. of Chicago, 4 p.m. | Luther vs. Ripon, 6 p.m. | U. of Chicago vs. UM-Morris, 8 p.m.
Saturday, September 2, 2017 * Court 1 | Live Stats
• Luther vs. Carthage, 10 a.m. | Saint Mary's vs. Carthage, noon | Luther vs. UM-Morris, 2 p.m. | Saint Mary's vs. Central-Iowa, 4 p.m.
Saturday, September 2, 2017 * Court 2 | Live Stats
• U. of Chicago vs. UW-Stout, 10 a.m. | Central-Iowa vs. UW-Stout, noon | U. of Chicago vs. Ripon, 2 p.m. | Ripon vs. UM-Morris, 4 p.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats: Court 1 * Court 2 | Tournament Scoreboard | Tournament Program

Last Action:
• This weekend's matches are the season-openers for all eight teams participating in the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Sugar Loaf Opponents—Their Last Meeting:
• vs. UM-Morris * October 14, 2006 * Morris, Minn.: Molli Dant collected a team-high 16 kills and Pam Stanton chipped in 12, as the Cardinals cruised to a 3-0 win over UM-Morris in the final match of the UM-Morris Triangular | Recap
• vs. UW-Stout * September 12, 2015 * Dubuque, Iowa: UW-Stout opened with a 25-21 win in the opening set, and, after Saint Mary's took Set 2 25-17, rattled off wins of 27-25 and 25-21 to hand the Cardinals a 3-1 setback during the second day of the Loras Invitational | Recap
• vs. Carthage * October 10, 2015 * Naperville, Ill.: A week after playing two of the top teams in the MIAC in less than a 24-hour span, the Cardinals squared off against two of the nation's best—in a three-hour span—during the second day of the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament. The Cardinals opened Day 2 against 11th-ranked Carthage, before taking the court against the nation's top-ranked team, Washington (Mo.) University, in its second match of the day. And two of the nation's best got the better of the Cardinals, as both Carthage and Washington (Mo.) University handed Saint Mary's 3-0 setbacks | Recap
• vs. Central-Iowa * September 9, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) was unstoppable against the Dutch, collecting 29 kills and 12 digs in leading the Cardinals to a 3-1 victory during the opening day of the St. Catherine Tournament | Recap
 
Cardinals Up Next:
• The Cardinals hit the road for the first time in 2017 on Wednesday, traveling to Decorah, Iowa, for a 7 p.m. nonconference match against Luther.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
•  The Cardinals boasted a pair of players named to the All-MIAC First-Team—Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.). … Blattner also earned AVCA First-Team All-Central Region and AVCA Second-Team All-American honors. … Blattner became the first player in program history to land a spot on one of the AVCA's three All-American teams. … Saint Mary's closed out the MIAC regular-season with an 8-3 record, earning the conference's No. 4 seed in the post-season tournament for the second straight year. … The Cardinals made their fourth straight MIAC Playoff appearance—and the 11^th under coach Mike Lester. … The Cardinals' 24 wins a year ago marked the fourth straight season, and 10^th time during Lester's tenure, that Saint Mary's has won 20 or more matches. … The Cardinals' 24 wins are the most since going 24-9 in 2013. … Blattner closed out her sophomore year as the team- and conference-leader in kills (440) and kills-per-set (4.54). … Blattner eclipsed 20 kills in a match seven times this season—including three matches of 28 or more kills. … Blattner, who led the Cardinals in kills in 24 of their 29 matches, set a single-match school record in the rally scoring era with 31 kills against Bethel on Oct. 21. The 31 kills were two better than her previous career-high 29, recorded against Central-Iowa on Sept. 9. … Blattner's 31 and 29 kills are the most by a Cardinal since Molli Dant recorded 29 in a four-set match against Wartburg on Oct. 31, 2002. … Blattner's 440 kills last season rank No. 5 all-time, eight kills back of Ashley Dingels' 448 kills in 2004. … Lexi Barth (Bryon, Minn.) finished the year second to Blattner in kills with 210—including a career-high 18 kills against Gustavus on Oct. 28—while Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn. / 184) and Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn. / 131) also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau. … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) and Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) shared the setting duties for the Cardinals last season, with Hanson dishing out a team-high 546 helpers, while Braun added 482 in her first year as a Cardinal. … Hanson recorded 16 matches of 20 or more assists—including 29 helpers in two of the Cardinals' last three matches. … Hanson posted a season-high 31 assists in the Cardinals' 3-0 win over Penn State-Behrend on Oct 8. … Along with her 482 assists, Braun owned a team-leading 47 aces, four more than Thomas. The duo were two of four Cardinals with 20 or more aces last season. … The Cardinals boasted four players—Braun, Thomas, Blattner, and Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.)—who served up five or more aces in a match a year ago. Thomas notched a season- and career-high seven aces in Saint Mary's 3-1 win over Rowan on Oct. 8. … Thomas' seven aces are the most in a match since Megan Roesler and Lisa Engdahl served up seven aces during the 2005 season. … Hess posted a season- and career-high 30 assists in the Cardinals' 3-0 win over Alverno on Sept. 16, while notching a career-high four blocks in the Cardinals' Sept. 24 loss to St. Thomas. … The Cardinals had a season-high four players record double-doubles against Gustavus on Oct. 29. Blattner added 17 digs to her match-high 21 kills; Hanson and Braun finished with 16 and 14 digs to go along with their 29 and 20 assists; and Thomas tallied 18 digs and 10 assists. … Blattner and Hanson shared the team lead with 13 double-doubles. … Thomas' 10 assists against Gustavus on Oct. 29 were a career high. … The Cardinals had five players finish the season with 100 or more digs, led by Thomas with 514—including the team's top five single-match dig performances. Thomas posted a season-high 32 digs against Dubuque on Sept. 16, recorded 31 against Central-Iowa on Sept. 9, tallied 28 against both St. Catherine on Sept. 14 and Lawrence on Sept. 17, and notched 26 vs. Nebraska-Wesleyan on Sept. 10. … Thomas' 514 digs were a single-season career high and rank sixth all-time. … Saint Mary's had a season-high five players record at least 10 digs vs. Augsburg on Oct. 12. Along with Blattner, Hanson, and Braun, the Cardinals also got 20 digs from Thomas and 15 from Clare Tack (St. Charles, Ill.). … The Cardinals had 10 different players record at least one kill in their 3-0 win over Hamline on Sept. 21. … Fifteen of the Cardinals 24 wins last season were 3-0 sweeps. Saint Mary's also owned six, four-set wins and two five-set victories. … Seventeen of the Cardinals' 24 wins, meanwhile, came via two lengthy winning streaks—one of 10 matches and the other of seven. … Saint Mary's season-opening 10-match winning streak was the second-longest in program history. … The Cardinals were a perfect 16-0 in regular-season tournament play last season—going 4-0 at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, St. Catherine Invitational, Ripon Red Hawk Invitational, and the Neumann Invitational. … Blattner and Thomas were named to the all-tournament team in each of the Cardinals' four regular-season tournaments. … Saint Mary's 4-0 run through the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic marked the first time the Cardinals had opened with four straight wins since 2008, when they opened 7-0.
 
Scouting The UM-Morris Cougars:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Cougars are coming off a 16-15 campaign in 2016, including a 7-1 showing in the UMAC. … UM-Morris reached the championship match of the UMAC Tournament a year ago, falling to nationally ranked Northwestern, 3-0. … The Cougars have faced Northwestern in the UMAC Tournament title match each of the last four years—and have lost all four times. … Marissa Ekness returns for her senior season after being named All-UMAC and AVCA All-Region First-Team, as well as honorable-mention All-American. … Ekness amassed a team-leading 503 kills and averaging 4.75 kps. … Morgan Miller was second to Ekness in kills with 268, while Lindsey Markel chipped in 1709. … Layne Hermann was the team's assist leader in 2016, accounting for 1,059 of the Cougars' 1,281 assists. … Ekness also led the team in aces with 39, eight in front of Hermann. … Katie Reitsma finished as the team's dig leader with 661. She was one of three Cougars with 300 or more digs—Bekah Morris (359) and Ekness (348) were the other two. … Eight of the Cougars' 15 losses—including the UMAC Tournament title match against Northwestern—came via 3-0 sweeps. UM-Morris also dropped six 3-1 decisions. On the flip side, 10 of the Cougars' 16 wins were sweeps. … The Cougars played just one match extended to a fifth set—falling to Concordia (Minn.) 3-2 on Sept. 23. … UM-Morris finished 8-3 on its home court, while going 8-12 on the road—including 4-7 in neutral-court matches.
 
Scouting The UW-Stout Blue Devils:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Blue Devils enter 2017 on the heels of a 15-14 season a year ago, including a 3-4 showing in the WIAC— and a first-round exit from the WIAC Tournament, falling to UW-Oshkosh 3-0. … Ashley Pratt and Kennedy Strain return after honorable-mention All-WIAC seasons a year ago. … Pratt led Stout in kills in 2016, racked up 355—101 more than Strain, who finished with 254. The two combined for 609 of the 1240 Blue Devil kills on the season. … Olivia Jung chipped in 227 kills a year ago. … Jessica DuVal dished out a team-leading 867 assists last season, while Carli Langeland owned a team-high 23 service aces. … Langeland was one of eight Blue Devils with at least 10 aces a year ago. … UW-Stout boasted six players with 100 or more digs, led by Anna Panning (467) and Langeland (368). … Strain also led the team in blocks with 85, averaging 0.83 bps. … Nine of UW-Stout's 15 wins came in 3-0 sweeps. The Blue Devils finished 3-5 in matches that went four sets, and were 3-3 in five-setters. … UW-Stout finished 3-4 on its home court last season, while going 12-10 on the road—including 8-5 in neutral-site matches.
 
Scouting The Carthage Lady Reds:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Lady Reds are coming off an 18-13 campaign a year ago, including a 5-3 showing in the CCIW. Carthage reached the semifinals of the CCIW Tournament, falling to Millikin 3-1. … The Lady Reds return a pair of All-CCIW performers in second-teamers Rachael Kisten and Luci Krenzke, but they will be without graduated senior and First-Team All-CCIW Stephanie Korbakes. … Korbakes closed out her senior season as the team's kills leader with 327 (2.79 kps), while Anna Kinnell was second with 234. … Korbakes and Kinnell were two of eight Lady Reds with 100 or more kills. … Abigail McGowan and Ellie LeCount shared the setting duties for Carthage last season, with McGowan posted a team-best 786 helpers, while LeCount chipped in 418. … Carthage amassed 181 service aces in 2016, led by Mallory Parsons with 47 and LeCount with 30. … The Lady Reds had seven players finish the year with 10 or more aces. … Krenzke registered a team-best 579 digs a year ago, which ranked 47th nationally and third in the CCIW—and moved her to into a tie for third on the Carthage career digs list with 1,673. … Parsons (266) and McGowan (211) also eclipsed the 200-dig plateau in 2016. … Rachel Mickey (86) and Stefanie Romanowski (74) closed out the season as the team's blocks leaders. … Carthage posted 11, 3-0 sweeps a year ago, while going 5-6 in matches that went four sets. The Lady Reds played seven five-set matches in 2016, going 2-5. … Carthage went 6-3 on its home court a year ago, finishing 11-10 on the road—including 5-6 in neutral-court matches.
 
Scouting The Central-Iowa Dutch:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Central-Iowa heads is coming off a 14-15 season a year ago, including a 4-4 showing in the IIAC. The Dutch fell to regular-season champion Wartburg 3-1 in the semifinals of the 2016 IIAC Tournament. … Jenna Dille returns after an All-IIAC junior season a year ago, but the Dutch will be without graduated senior and honorable-mention All-IIAC libero Nicole Ewoldt. … Kylie Gerstein recorded a team-high 304 kills (2.76 kps) a year ago, with Dille chipping in 243 kills (2.31 kps) and a team-best .289 attach percentage. … Gerstein and Dille were two of six Dutch who posted more than 100 kills a year ago. … Chapel Carter dished out a team-leading 621 assists a year ago, with Regan Nelson and Madison Egger adding 215 and 202 helpers, respectively. … Central had two players—Dille (36) and Ewoldt (30)—with 30 or more services aces, with Carter (21) and Gerstein (21) also serving up more than 20 aces a year ago. … Ewoldt closed out her senior season with a team-leading 657 digs (5.87 dps). … Central finished with six players who posted more than 100 digs. … Thirteen of Central's 29 matches were decided in three sets—the Dutch finished 6-7 in those contests. Central was 5-5 in four-set matches and 3-3 in five-setters. … Central played just four home matches last season, winning three of the four. The Dutch were 11-14 on the road in 2016—including 8-7 in neutral-site matches.
 
Scouting The University of Chicago Maroons:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Maroon head to the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic coming off an 18-11 season in 2016—including a perfect 7-0 regular-season run through the UAA. Chicago reached the semifinals of the UAA Tournament, falling to nationally ranked Carnegie Mellon 3-1. … The Maroons played nine matches against nationally ranked teams last season, going 5-4. … Sarah Muisenga returns after earning First-Team All-UAA and honorable-mention AVCA All-Region honors following her sophomore season. … Muisenga was one of two Maroons to appear in every set of all 29 matches last season. She recorded a team-high 380 kills (3.52 kps) while posting the team's third-best hitting percentage (.237). … Owner of 19 double-doubles last season, Muisenga also led the team with 34 aces. … Muisenga was one of two Chicago players to eclipse the 300-kill plateau last season, being joined by Audrey Scrafford, who finished with 347. … Erin Risk was the team's assist leader, accounting for 1,095 of the team's 1,288 assists. … Muisenga's team-best 34 aces were one more than Risk. The duo were to of eight Marrons with 10 or more aces. … Mary Claire Tuohy closed out 2016 as the team's digs leader with 497, while Risk (370) and Muisenga (350) were close behind. … Anne Marie Stifter totaled a team-leading 51 blocks, six more than Kathryn LaPorte. … Ten of Chicago's 18 wins were three-set sweeps. On the flip side, seven of the Maroons' 11 losses were 3-1 decisions. The Maroons finished 10-2 in three-set matches, 6-7 in four-setters and were 2-2 in matches extended to a fifth and final set. … Chicago posted a 5-8 record on its home court last season, going 13-3 on the road—including a near-perfect 9-1 showing in neutral-site matches.
 
Scouting The Ripon Red Hawks:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Ripon is coming off a 17-9 season a year ago that included a 5-4 showing in the MWC. … The Red Hawks' 17 wins last season were the most since 2004. … Ripon returns Second-Team All-MWC performer Kat Kulas, but will be without the services of graduated senior Abbi Williamson—a four-time All-MWC selection and the conference's Player of the Year in 2015. … Williamson closed out her senior year with a team-best 778 assists, giving her a school-record 3,595 career assists during her four-year Red Hawk campaign. … Katie Berrell was the team's kills leader a year ago, finishing with 316 (3.43 kps), followed by Paige Buddenhagen (259, 2.91 kps) and Kulas (199, 2.29 kps). … Kendra Holte served up a team-high 19 aces, two more than Williamson and Brianna Rizzuto. … The Red Hawks boasted four players with 200 or more digs, led by Maddie Koster with 327. Stacie Kilka (292), Berrell (254), and Williamson (225) were the other three. … Kulas posted a team-leading 65 blocks (0.75 bps). … Ripon finished with year with a 9-5 record in three-set matches. The Red Hawks were 7-3 in four-setters and 1-1 in their two five-set matches. … Ripon lost just three of its 13 home matches last season, while going 7-6 on the road—including 4-2 in their six neutral-site matches. 
 
Scouting The Luther Norse:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Norse head into their season-opening weekend on the heels of a 21-8 season a year ago—a season in which Luther finished 6-2 in IIAC regular-season play and reached the semifinals of the conference tournament, falling to Coe, 3-1. … The Norse will be led this season by two-time All-IIAC and honorable-mention AVCA All-Region selection Emma Veum. … Jamie Sindinger closed out 2016 as the team-leader in kills with 313, while Veum (251 (2.37 kps), Anna Larson (250, 2.34 kps), and Lexie Erickson (202, 1.92 kps) also eclipsed the 200-kill plateau, while Katie Shabatura (199, 1.88 kps) finished one kill short. …Sam Sixta led the team in assists, dishing out 960 helpers in 29 matches, with Karissa Kime chipped in 127 assists. … Sixta also led the team in aces with 46. She was one of seven Norse to record 10 or more aces last season. … Taylor Gaide collected a team-best 488 digs, with Sixta (317), Larson (272), and Sindliner (237) also closing out the year with more than 200 digs. … Luther picked up 12 of tis 21 wins via 3-0 sweeps. The Norse finished the season 12-2 in three-set matches, 6-4 in four-setters, and 3-2 in matches extended to a fifth set. … Luther won four of its five home matches last season, while going 17-7 on the road—including an impressive 14-3 in neutral-site contests.