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SMU 3, Ill.-Weslayn 0; SMU 3, Oshkosh 0 SMU 3, Otterbein 0; SMU 3, Stevens Point 0 |
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(http://sports.smumn.edu/volleyball) |
| Date | Opponent | Time/Result |
| Aug. 30-31 | at Elmhurst Tourn. | 1st |
| Illinois-Wesleyan | W, 3-0 | |
| UW-Oshkosh | W, 3-0 | |
| Otterbein | W, 3-0 | |
| UW-Stevens Point | W, 3-0 | |
| Sept. 4 | at UW-La Crosse | 7:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 6-7 | Sugar Loaf Classic | |
| Sept. 13-14 | at Wartburg Invite | |
| Sept. 18 | at Augsburg | 7:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 25 | Bethel | 7:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 27 | at St. Benedict | 7:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 28 | at Concordia | 3 p.m. |
| Oct. 2 | Hamline | 7:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 4-5 | at Simpson Invite | |
| Oct. 9 | at St. Olaf | 7:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 11 | Macalester | 7:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 12 | St. Catherine | 3 p.m. |
| Oct. 16 | at St. Thomas | 7:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 23 | Carleton | 7:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 30 | Gustavus | 7:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 5 | MIAC Tourn. |
WINONA, Minn. — If last Friday's season-opening performance at the Elmhurst Tournament was good for the Saint Mary's University volleyball team, then Saturday's encore showing was great.
The Cardinals, who opened the tournament with 3-0 wins over Illinois Wesleyan and UW-Oshkosh on Friday, completed their perfect tournament run with another pair of 3-0 wins, rolling past Otterbein and UW-Stevens Point.
"I have to admit, I was a little surprised at our performance over the weekend," admitted SMU coach Mike Lester. "When you have a young team like we've got, you are always concerned about consistency. I knew coming into this season that we had a fairly talented team, but it's that consistency that makes good teams great."
It would be pretty tough for the Cardinals to get much more consistent than they were last weekend.
"When we were at our best, I felt we were in complete control," said Lester. "There certainly is still plenty of room for improvement, but it was a great way to get the season started."
Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.) collected a match-high 20 kills as SMU cruised to a 30-21, 30-19, 30-18 win over Illinois Wesleyan in its opening match. The Cardinals then rode 11-kill performances from Dingels and Tracy Koertgen (Crystal Lake, Ill.) to a 30-10, 30-27, 30-28 win over nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh.
Dingels wasn't the only one doing all the damage in SMU's opener against Illinois Wesleyan, as Erin Coleman (Austin, Minn.) chipped in 14 kills, while Melissa Cowan (Algonquin, Ill.) tallied 45 assists.
Against Oshkosh — which was ranked No. 12 in the AVCA preseason coaches poll — the Cardinals hit a whopping .233 as a team and got 32 assists from Cowan and 11 digs each from Coleman and Kirstan Rouzer (Comstock, Ill.).
Koertgen collected 15 kills and Dingels and Kirstan Rouzer (Comstock, Wis.) chipped in 14 and 11, respectively, en route to their 32-30, 30-12, 30-23 win over Otterbein. Against UW-Stevens Point, Dingels and Rouzer tallied 12 and 11 kills, respectively, while Rouzer also finished with 10 digs and Cowan dished out 35 assists.
"Getting off to a good start like that is a great confidence booster for everyone," Lester said. "It's early in the year, and I don't think a lot of the teams (at the Elmhurst Tournament) played their best volleyball, but it was still nice to see us get off to a great start like that."
THIS AND THAT: Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.) finished with a team-leading 57 kills and a .480 attack percentage in the Cardinals' four tournament matches. … Melissa Cowan (Algonquin, Ill.) accounted for 152 of SMU's 163 assists. … Tracy Koertgen (Crystal Lake, Ill.) collected 39 kills and Kirstan Rouzer (Comstock, Ill.) tallied 33 in the four tournament matches.
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