|
Cardinal Roster
|
Cardinal Statistics
|
|
Cardinal Schedule
|
MIAC Standings
|
|
MIAC Statistics
|
National Polls
|
 |
 |
| 2005 Record: 0-0 MIAC, 2-2 Overall |
| Last Week's Results: UW-La Crosse Invitational SMU 3, Edgewood 1 / Details UW-La Crosse 3, SMU 0 / Details St. Olaf 3, SMU 2 / Details SMU 3, North Central 0 / Details |
| Upcoming Events:: Tues., Sept. 6: SMU at Luther, 7 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Sept. 9-10: SMU Sugar Loaf Classic |
| This and That: Theresa Perrini (Fairway, Kan.) – playing in her first collegiate matches – earned all-tournament honors at the UW-L Invitational, collecting 50 digs in the team's four matches. … Megan Roesler (St. Paul, Minn.) boasted a team-best 44 kills and hit .404 for the Cardinals. … Michelle Mino (Austin, Minn.) recorded 142 assists in SMU's four tournament matches. … Amy Benz (Oshkosh, Wis.) chipped in 38 kills and tallied a team-leading 26 blocks. … SMU lost the first game in each of its first two tournament matches (going 1-1), then won the first game in its last two tourney matches (also going 1-1). |
WINONA, Minn. — The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Invitational turned out to be quite the learning experience for Saint Mary's University volleyball coach Mike Lester.
He learned what it takes to be considered among the best teams in the nation.
He learned what it's going to take to compete in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
And he learned just what his Cardinal team is made of.
"This tournament was definitely a learning experience — for me and for our team," Lester said last Saturday, after his team went 1-1 for the second straight day, falling to rival St. Olaf 3-2, before rebounding with a convincing 3-0 win over North Central. "And to be honest, I think we all learned a lot."
On Friday, Lester learned his Cardinals have a ways to go if they are going to be among the nation's elite, as they were blanked by 14th-ranked UW-L.
And on Saturday, the SMU coach and his team learned just how tough the MIAC is going to be, as they dropped a heartbreaking, five-game marathon to St. Olaf — a team that was picked by the conference coaches to finish ninth in the MIAC.
"We did not play exceptionally well in either match on Friday, but I thought we played much better (on Saturday). The effort and performance was 100 times better," said Lester. "We found out (on Friday) that we are probably a ways away from the teams in the top tier in the country, but I also think we proved that we are going to scratch and claw and battle no matter who we play.
"St. Olaf is a much better team than people give them credit for, and I think more than anything, that (Olaf) match shows just how competitive our conference is going to be — it's going to be a dogfight every match."
Megan Roesler (St. Paul, Minn.) and Amy Benz (Oshkosh, Wis.) led the Cardinals' offensive attack in the team's four tournament games, as Roesler hammered out 44 kills and hit .404, while Benz chipped in 38 kills and a team-leading 26 . Freshman Theresa Perrini (Fairway, Kan.) — the Cardinals' lone representative on the all-tournament team – picked up 35 of her 50 tournament digs in SMU's loss to St. Olaf, while Michelle Mino (Austin, Minn.) dished out 142 assists.
"Overall, I'm very pleased with our performance," said Lester, whose team returns to action Tuesday, traveling to Luther, before opening its home season next weekend in the SMU Sugar Loaf Classic. "We were able to get a lot of people valuable playing experience, and more than anything, we learned a little bit about what type of a team we have.
"Now our goal is to take what we learned and use it to help us get better every day."