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SMU at Sugar Loaf Fri.-Sat., Sept. 9-10 |
 Sugar Loaf |
Carthage 3, SMU 0 Wartburg 3, SMU 2 |
| Scoring Summary |
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| Carthage |
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| SMU |
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| Official Box Score / SMU Highlights: Lisa Engdahl: 12 kills; Carolyn Kiefer: 32 assists; Theresa Perrini: 19 digs, 4 aces |
| Scoring Summary |
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4
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5
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| Wartburg |
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21
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15
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| SMU |
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30 |
7
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| Official Box Score / SMU Highlights: Lisa Engdahl, 17 kills, 3 aces; Megan Roesler: 16 kills, 2 blocks; Amy Benz: 10 kills; Desiree Larson: 46 digs; Michelle Mino: 48 assists |
SMU can't find consistency in dropping 1st two tourney matches
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, things didn't go quite the way coach Mike Lester would have scripted it.
Carthage rode the 15-kill, .591 attach percentage to a 3-0, 30-26, 30-23, 33-31 victory over SMU in the opening match of the SMU Sugar Loaf Classic.
And things didn't go a whole lot batter in the Cardinals' second match, as SMU rallied from a 2-0 deficit, only to fall 15-7 in the fifth and deciding game of a 3-2, 30-25, 30-23, 23-30, 21-30, 15-7 setback to Wartburg.
"It was a tough start," admitted Lester. "We did not play exceptionally well against Carthage and it showed in the outcome. But I thought we played much better in the second match (against Wartburg), we were just too inconsistent.
"We had some bright spots, and some not so bright spots in that much."
Among the bright spots, the way the Cardinals rebounded form a dismal showing in the first two games against the Knights to win Games 3 and 4 and force the decisive fifth game.
Among the not so bright spots, the play in Games 1, 2 and 5.
"It's frustrating, because we played so well at times — in the third and fourth games, we were in complete control," said Lester. "But in that fifth game, we were back to playing the way we did in the first two games.
"We were just way too inconsistent."
Lisa Engdahl (North Branch, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals, recording 17 kills against Wartburg and 12 kills against Carthage. Megan Roesler (St. Paul, Minn.) added 16 kills against the Knights, while Desiree Larson (Blaine, Minn.) recorded 46 digs vs. Wartburg and Michelle Mino (Austin, Minn.) finished with 48 assists.
"It was kind of an uphill battle all day," said Lester, whose team dropped to 3-4 overall and will take on UW-Superior in the final round of pool play Saturday at noon. "Inconsistency will do that to a team. But what's encouraging is the fact that everything we did wrong, is correctable — we just need to continue to work to improve every day."