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Cardinal Schedule
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MIAC Standings
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MIAC Statistics
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| 2005 Record: 1-6 MIAC, 8-12 Overall |
| Last Week's Results: Border Battle (at Gustavus) Saint Mary's 3, Simpson 2 / Details Saint Mary's 3, Luther 0 / Details Saint Mary's 3, Loras 1 / Details Dubuque 3, Saint Mary's 1 / Details |
| Upcoming Events:: Mon., Oct. 10: Winona State at SMU, 7 p.m. Wed., Oct. 12: Augsburg at SMU, 7 p.m. |
| This and That: The Cardinals snapped a two-match losing streak with their 3-2 win over Simpson in Match 1 of the Border Battle. … The Cardinals' three-match winning streak — snapped by a 3-1 loss to the University of Dubuque — was SMU's longest of the season. … SMU's 3-0 win over Luther Friday was the third time this season that the Cardinals have beaten the Norse. … Lisa Engdahl (North Branch, Minn.) collected a season-high 25 kills in SMU's loss to Dubuque. … Molli Dant (Forest City, Iowa), who finished with 66 kills — including 22 vs. Loras — earned Border Battle All-Tournament honors. … Engdahl notched a team-best 71 kills in the four Border matches, while Carolyn Kiefer (New London, Minn.) dished out 209 assists and Desiree Larson (Blaine, Minn.) picked up a team-best 67 digs. |
Cardinals have plenty to smile about at Border Battle
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Molli
Dant at Border Battle |
And, thanks to last Saturday's 3-1 (25-30, 30-27, 30-28, 30-24) win over Loras, SMU was one step away from achieving that goal.
Unlike the three Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schools before them, however, the University of Dubuque wasn't about to let the Cardinals bully them around, as the Spartans knocked SMU off its perfect pedestal, 3-1 (34-32, 24-30, 30-20, 30-23).
"It was a good weekend for us," said Lester, whose team had opened the weekend with a 3-2 win over Simpson and a 3-0 triumph over Luther — the third time this season that the Cardinals had beaten the Norse. "We played very well (in Friday's two matches) and we came out and played very well again (Saturday).
"The Dubuque match was one of those matches that easily could have gone either way," continued Lester. "We certainly played well enough to win — Dubuque just played a little bit better."
Lisa Engdahl (North Branch, Minn.) and Molli Dant (Forest City, Iowa) fueled the Cardinals' offense attack in the four Border Battle matches, as Engdahl collected 71 kills, including a season-high 25 against Dubuque, while Dant — SMU's lone representative on the all-tournament team — picked up 66 kills, 10 service aces, 59 digs and five blocks.
"Our biggest problem lately has been that we've been our own worst enemy — we've been giving away way too many points," said Lester. "We didn't do that this weekend. We had three people with more than 18 kills (against Simpson) and they had just eight errors — combined.
"Our outsides (Engdahl and Dant) are really starting to step and play extremely well, which opens everything up for us," continued Lester, whose team moved to 8-12 overall with the 3-1 tournament finish. "We really needed a weekend like this. I think it not only shows the team just how good we can be when we play up to our capabilities, but, hopefully, it will also work as a springboard to the rest of the season."