The Cardinals, fueled by the dynamic duo of Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) and Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.), earned an NCAA Tournament appearance a year ago — falling to eventual NCAA national champion Washington University in St. Louis 3-1 in the regional semifinal.

As memorable as last season was, however, coach Mike Lester is taking a page from the Las Vegas ad campaign — “what happened in 2009, stays in 2009.”

“Last year was great, and everyone should be proud of what we accomplished,” said Lester, who is entering his 13th season as the Cardinals' head coach. “But by the time the school year ended last year, nobody was talking about what we had accomplished, they were all talking about what needs to be done for us to be better this year.”

In other words, the Cardinals' focus is on the present — and only the present.

“As a coach, your greatest fear is for players to rest on past successes — to forget about all the hard work they put in to achieve those successes,” Lester said. “I don't have that concern with this group — they are an extremely motivated group that feels like they have some unfinished business.”

What helps keep Lester's 2010 focus crystal clear is the return of virtually his entire starting lineup — including honorable-mention All-American Gardner and fellow All-MIAC first-teamer Mate.

The two are coming off banner junior seasons a year ago. Gardner closed out the season as SMU's kill leader with 386 (3.16 kills per set). She appeared in all 122 sets, boasting a .272 attack percentage, 55 service aces, 197 digs, 58 blocks and 75 assists en route to earning First-Team All-MIAC, Central Region All-Tournament and AVCA Honorable-Mention All-American honors. Mate, meanwhile, was second to Gardner in kills (344 / 2.87 kps), while hitting .254. She also notched 11 aces, 140 digs and 35 blocks and was named First-Team All-MIAC and honorable-mention All-Central Region.

“Sarah and Jess had outstanding seasons a year ago,” said Lester, who expects both Gardner and Mate to eclipse 1,000 career kills before the first week of the regular season is completed — Gardner is 10 kills shy, while Mate needs just 48. “And there's no reason to expect anything less this year. They are both hard-working individuals who are determined to make their senior seasons their best yet.”

And, Lester quickly pointed out, the Cardinals' success won't rest solely on the shoulders of Gardner and Mate.

Add to the mix setter Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.), who has compiled 2,327 assists during her three-year career at SMU — including 1,187 a year ago — middle hitter Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis. / 128 blocks), and defensive specialist Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn. / 492 digs) — and the Cardinals appear to have all the ingredients for another NCAA run.

“Obviously losing Jess (Larson) and Courtney (Runge) (to graduation) hurts,” said Lester, whose team's 22 wins in 2009 were the most wins in a season since SMU won 28 en route to their first-ever NCAA national tournament appearance in 2000. “But on the flip side, we return most of our offense, our starting setter and our starting libero, so we definitely come into the season as an experienced group.”

If the Cardinals are to earn a second straight NCAA tournament berth, they will have to survive not only an MIAC minefield, but also one of their toughest nonconference schedules of Lester's tenure.

“The MIAC is so tough, top-to-bottom,” said Lester, noting that four teams — including SMU — tied for fourth in the conference race a year ago. “Add to that several key regional matches against teams like Nebraska Wesleyan, Hope — which reached the NCAA Final Eight last year — Calvin and North Central, both teams in the top 20 at the end of the year last year, and we've certainly got our work cut out for us.

“Everyone's excited about the year,” Lester added. “Hopefully all their hard work will pay off again."