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Wednesday, September 25, 2002 |
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(Through Tuesday, September 24) |
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Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.) collected 11 kills as SMU opened its MIAC season with a 3-0 win over Augsburg last Wednesday. … Bethel, meanwhile, also opened conference play on a winning note, blanking Carleton 3-0 Wednesday. |
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Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.) led four players in double figures with 15 kills, but it was not enough as Bethel cruised to a 3-1 win over the Cardinals at the Wartburg Invitational on Sept. 14, 2002. |
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Bethel defeated the Cardinals twice a year ago, winning the teams' regular-season meeting 3-1 on Sept. 19, 2001, then duplicating that feat in the semifinals of the MIAC Tournament on Nov. 2, 2001. |
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The Cardinals’ win over Augsburg last Wednesday snapped SMU’s two-match losing streak. … All eight of the Cardinals’ wins this season have come by 3-0 scores. … Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.) leads SMU with 189 kills (4.11 kpg) and blocks (50) and is hitting a team-leading .425. … Kirstan Rouzer (Comstock, Wis.) is the team-leader in digs (179), while Tracy Koertgen (Crystal Lake, Ill.) boasts a team-high 42 aces. … Bethel enters Wednesday's contest with an eight-match MIAC winning streak — dating back to a loss to Macalester on Sept. 22, 2001. |
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Senior / Setter Hometown Major |
WINONA, Minn. — Stuck in the middle of a two-match losing streak and having lost five of its last six matches, the Saint Mary's University volleyball team was bound and determined to kick off its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule on the right foot.
Mission accomplished.
SMU made quick work of Augsburg last Wednesday, getting a match-high 11 kills from Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.) en route to a 3-0 (30-15, 30-20, 30-13) victory.
Tracy Koertgen (Crystal Lake, Ill.) and Kirstan Rouzer (Comstock, Wis.) each chipped in nine kills, while Koertgen also boasted a .692 attack percentage and tallied five aces.
The Cardinals (1-0 MIAC, 8-6 overall) took advantage of 25 Augsburg attacking errors and converted 13 service aces in the match, including five each by Koertgen and Melissa Cowan (Algonquin, Ill.). Cowan closed the first game with four consecutive aces, while Koertgen had four aces in a row in the third game.
"This was a nice match for us to have to open the conference," said SMU coach Mike Lester. "Traditionally, we've had trouble playing Wednesday road games, and for us to go up there (Minneapolis) and play the way we did, was nice to see."
The Cardinals will need the same type of effort this Wednesday, when they play host to defending MIAC champion and national tournament participant Bethel.
"We've talked all season about how important it is to treat every conference match the same," explained Lester. "We can't get too up about playing Bethel, we have to go about the match in the same way we did against Augsburg. Every match is just as important as any other. Right now we are 1-0, and we have 10 more conference matches to play — and they are all important if we are going to achieve our goal of winning the conference title."
That being said, Lester did admit that his Cardinals are a little eager for another shot at the Royals, who handed SMU a 3-1 setback during the Wartburg Touranment two weeks ago.
"I wouldn't say it's a revenge factor, but I would say that our athletes are extra-motivated to play well in that match," Lester said. "Everyone on this team knows we didn't put our best game on the court the first time we met. They believe they are as good as Bethel, and we're looking forward to getting a second chance to prove it."