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| 2005 Record: 0-0 MIAC, 3-2 Overall |
| Last Week's Results: SMU 3, Luther 1 / Details SMU Sugar Loaf Classic Carthage 3, SMU 0 / Details Wartburg 3, SMU 2 / Details UW-Superior 3, SMU 2 / Details SMU 3, Luther 1 / Details |
| Upcoming Events:: Wed., Sept. 14: Bethel at SMU, 7 p.m. Wed., Sept. 21: SMU at Macalester, 7 p.m. Fri., Sept. 23: St. Benedict at SMU, 7 p.m. Sat., Sept. 24; Concordia at SMU, 3 p.m. |
| This and That: Lisa Engdahl (North Branch, Minn.) collected 70 kills — including a career-high 23 vs. Luther – in the Cardinals' four SMU Sugar Loaf Classic matches last weekend. … Michelle Mino (Austin, Minn.) accounted for 132 of the Cardinals' 195 assists at the Sugar Loaf Classic. … Desiree Larson (Blaine, Minn.) posted 101 digs and Amy Benz (Oshkosh, Wis.) and Megan Roesler (St. Paul, Minn.) added a team-best 13 blocks in the Cardinals' four tournament matches. …SMU's 3-1 win over Luther last Saturday — the Cardinals' second 3-1 win over the Norse in the span of four days — snapped its season-high three-match losing streak. … The Cardinals five-game losses to Wartburg and UW-Superior dropped SMU to 0-3 in matches that go the maximum five games. … SMU's 3-1 wins over Luther last week pushed their mark to 3-0 in four-game matches. |
for a 1-3 showing during SMU Sugar Loaf Classic
WINONA, Minn. — If there was one thing the Saint Mary's University volleyball team was consistent at during the two-day SMU Sugar Loaf Classic, it was being inconsistent.
The Cardinals' inconsistency haunted them in last Friday's losses to Carthage and Wartburg, and it was more of the same on Saturday, as SMU dropped a heartbreaking 3-2, 30-27, 25-30, 30-20, 29-31, 17-15 decision to UW-Superior, before bouncing back with a hard-fought 3-1, 21-30, 30-28, 30-12, 33-31 triumph over Luther.
"It's hard to feel too disappointed, because we really did play some very good volleyball," said SMU coach Mike Lester. "The problem was, at times, we also played some not-so-good volleyball. Inconsistency was a real problem this weekend.
"We played two very tough matches (Saturday) and in both of those — as well as the Superior match (Friday night) — we could have easily come away with wins in all three," Lester continued. "Take away about seven points, and we could have very easily been 3-1 in this tournament, rather than 1-3."
Unfortunately for Lester, those seven points counted, and his Cardinals did have to settle for a 1-3 tournament record.
"We showed some signs of just how good a team we can be," said Lester, whose team moved to 4-5 overall. "There were some games that we were just awesome — and that's what we have to focus on. The talent and the ability are there, we just have to find a way to play at that high level all the time."
The Cardinals' match against UW-Superior on Saturday was a perfect example of that, as SMU was outscored 4-1 down the stretch to lose Game 1, jumped out to a 9-1 lead and held on for dear life to win Game 2, allowed the Yellowjackets to end Game 3 on a 13-2 run, then forced a decisive Game 5 with a 31-29 marathon in Game 4.
"(The Superior) match was a see-saw affair the entire way," said Lester, whose team fell behind 5-1 to start the fifth game, tied things up 14-14, but then dropped three of the next four points. "We're putting ourselves in position to win matches, we just haven't quite figured out how to finish teams off — but that's to be expected with a young team.
"We did the same thing against Luther," continued Lester. "We struggled with inconsistency in the first two games, then dominated the third game (30-12). We were in control in the fourth game as well, but we let (Luther) back in and had to scratch and claw at the end to get the win."
Lisa Engdahl (North Branch, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals during the two-day tournament, collecting 70 kills — including a career-high 23-kill effort vs. Luther. Molli Dant (Forest City, Iowa) added 37 kills and Megan Roesler (St. Paul, Minn.) finished with 33 in the four tournament matches, while Michelle Mino (Austin, Minn.) tallied 132 assists and Desiree Larson (Blaine, Minn.) finished with 101 digs.
"It would have been nice to end the weekend 3-1, but I'm happy with our play," said Lester, whose team opens conference play on Wednesday, when they play host to Bethel in a 7 p.m. match. "We did lot of good things out there — and the things that we didn't do well, are things that we can correct in practice.
"All-in-all, it was a good weekend for us."