WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team kicks off the 2012 season at home this weekend, as the Cardinals host the seven-team Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic.



Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic Field:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2011: 17-14 Overall), Edgewood Eagles (2011: 21-14 Overall), Simpson Storm (2011: 14-18 Overall), St. Thomas Tommies (2011: 32-5 Overall), Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves (2011: 16-12 Overall), Luther Norse (2011: 17-14 Overall), UW-La Crosse Eagles (2011: 7-23 Overall)

Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic Schedule:
Friday, Aug. 31
Court 1: SMU vs. Edgewood, 2 p.m. | Luther vs. UW-La Crosse, 4 p.m. | SMU vs. Simpson, 6 p.m. | St. Thomas vs. Simpson, 8 p.m.
Court 2: St. Thomas vs. Nebraska Wesleyan, 4 p.m. | Luther vs. Edgewood, 6 p.m. | Nebraska Wesleyan vs. UW-La Crosse, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 1
Court 1: St. Thomas vs. Luther, 10 a.m. | Nebraska Wesleyan vs. SMU, Noon | St. Thomas vs. UW-La Crosse, 2 p.m. | Luther vs. SMU, 4 p.m.
Court 2: Simpson vs. Nebraska Wesleyan, 10 a.m. | Edgewood vs. UW-La Crosse, Noon | Simpson vs. Edgewood, 2 p.m.

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats/Video (Court 1 Only) | Tournament Homepage
Video Preview | Tournament Program

Last Action:
This weekend's matches are the season opener for all seven teams competing.

SMU vs. The Sugar Loaf Classic Field — Their Last Meeting:
vs. Edgewood: This will be the Cardinals' first meeting against the Eagles.
vs. Luther — Sept. 3, 2011: SMU closed out the 2011 Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic the same way they started it — with a five-set marathon. Unfortunately, the end result wasn't the same, as Luther thwarted SMU's 2-0 rallying, posting a 15-9 win in the fifth and deciding set to beat the Cardinals 3-2 at the SMU Gym.
vs. UW-La Crosse — Sept. 2, 2011: Being that it was their first match of the season, the Cardinals decided to get in a little extra work against UW-La Crosse in their opening match of the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic. And thanks for a 15-8 win in the fifth and decisive set, the Cardinals came away with a season-opening, 3-2 (26-24, 22-25, 25-17, 19-25, 15-8) victory over the Eagles at the SMU Gym.
vs. Simpson — Sept. 18, 2009: The Storm proved to be rather ungracious hosts, as Simpson handed the Cardinals their second loss in as many matches with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-19) decision during the opening day of the Simpson Tournament in Indianola, Iowa.
vs. St. Thomas — Oct. 21, 2011: For the fourth time in as many MIAC matches, the Cardinals squared off against a league-leader, and, unfortunately SMU and coach Mike Lester, the result was the same, as nationally ranked St. Thomas handed SMU a 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-8) conference setback at the SMU Gym.
vs. Nebraska Wesleyan — Sept. 10, 2010: The Prairie Wolves put an end to SMU's five-match winning streak, as Nebraska Wesleyan handed the Cardinals a 3-0 (29-27, 25-20, 27-25) setback during the opening day of the Wartburg Invitational in Waverly, Iowa.

Scouting The Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic Field:
Saint Mary's Cardinals
2012 Roster | 2011 Final Statistics | 2012 Schedule
The Cardinals closed out the 2011 season with eight straight road matches, playing four matches at the North Central (Ill.) Tournament and MIAC road contests at St. Thomas, Hamline, Carleton and Gustavus. Thirteen of SMU's 17 wins came on the road. … Kara Grant boasted a team-leading 462 kills and was one of seven Cardinals with 100 or more kills this season. Mary Nordick was second with 256, followed by Sabrina Bushlack (Mapleton, Minn. / 201), Carissa Hahn (Hutchinson, Minn. / 143), Molly Grover (Zumbrota, Minn. / 135), Kaylee Bunne (LeRoy, Minn. / 113) and Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill. / 111). … Assimos eclipsed the 1,000-assist mark for the season on Oct. 26, 2011, dishing out 46 assists vs. Carleton. Assimos closed out the year with 1,036 assists. … Led by Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn. / 382) and Erika Hurley (Chatfield, Minn. / 369), the Cardinals boasted two players with 300 or more digs, five players with 200 or more and seven with 100 or more. … The Cardinals' 2-2 showing at the North Central (Ill.) Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament on Oct. 14-15 marked the only time in five regular-season tournaments last year that the Cardinals did not go 3-1 in tournament play. … Assimos was named to the all-tournament team in four of the five regular-season tournaments the Cardinals played in. … The Cardinals played 12 five-set matches last season, going 5-7. … SMU won the first set in 15 of its 17 victories last season. … SMU's 22-20 Set 5 loss to Bethel on Oct. 12 was the highest-scoring fifth set in the last 15 years. … SMU's Oct. 21 showdown against nationally ranked St. Thomas was the fourth straight match in which the Cardinals squared off against a league-leader. SMU had also squared off against Concordia, Saint Benedict and Bethel — all three were tied with St. Thomas atop the MIAC standings at the time they played SMU. … The Cardinals set a pair of single-match records in the rally scoring era in their 3-0 victory over Finlandia on Sept. 2. SMU held the Lions to a record-low four points in their Set 3, 25-4 win, while the Cardinals' 19 service aces were also a single-match record.

Simpson Storm
2012 Roster | 2011 Final Statistics | 2012 Schedule
The Storm are coming off a 14-18 season a year ago, including a 3-5 mark in the IIAC. … After going 6-12 in September, Simpson rallied to go 8-6 in October — including back-to-back 3-1 wins over North Central and Buena Vista to close out the season. … Simpson returns four starters — led by honorable-mention All-IIAC selection Steph Keller. … Keller was second on the team in kills (316), while also hitting .187. … McKaylie Croghan, a three-year starter, returns for her senior season after collecting 192 kills in 2011. … The Storm will be without the services of two-time all-conference performer Megan Dunlavy, who finished her career with 1,344 kills — including 432 a year ago — and a .271 hitting percentage (third highest percentage in school history and the best since 1994) and starting setter Ashley Padget, who accumulated 940 assists during her senior campaign.

St. Thomas Tommies
2012 Roster | 2011 Final Statistics | 2012 Schedule
St. Thomas, coming off its second straight NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2011, enters the 2012 season ranked No. 7 in the American Volleyball Coaches' Association (AVCA) Preseason Poll. … St. Thomas has now been ranked in the Top 25 for 82 of the last 83 polls. … The Tommies have eclipsed the 30-win plateau in each of the last two seasons, collecting 31 wins in 2010 and 32 a year ago. … Coach Thanh Pham's squad, which went 10-1 in winning the MIAC regular-season title, won 19 of its last 21 matches a year ago. … Pham's teams have captured seven MIAC titles and made seven NCAA playoff appearances in his eight seasons. Pham has won an even 80 percent of his matches (248-62), including an 88-11 record in MIAC regular-season play. … UST graduated three seniors, including All-America setter Ashley Maher, but return 12 of their top 15 players, led by senior All-America libero Kaitlain Wachter and honorable mention All-America middle blocker Kelly Foley. … Foley — who led the Tommies with 452 kills and a .328 attack percentage — became the first MIAC player selected Division III National Freshman of the Year in 2011. … Three of UST's four all-conference selections last season were first-year collegiate starters. … St. Thomas boasted four players with 300 or more kills a year ago and hit .256 as a team. … UST did not lose back-to-back matches last season and boasted winning streaks of three (twice), nine and 16 matches.

Edgewood Eagles
2012 Roster | 2011 Final Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Edgewood is coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history a year ago. The Eagles placed third in the Northern Athletics Conference, but won the NAC Tournament, finishing with a thrilling five-set victory over regular-season champion Dominican University. … Edgewood's NAC Tournament title last season was their first conference tournament crown since 1996. … Mallory Palmer enters her senior year as the school's all-time leader in kills in the rally scoring era with 1,326. She needs 333 kills this season to pass Edgewood Hall of Famer Mandie Armstrong's (1995-98) record of 1,659. Palmer, who led the team with 501 kills (3.94 kps) in 2011, is a three-time, First Team All-Northern Athletics Conference player, and was a Third Team AVCA All-Region selection a year ago. … Lindsey Swansby ranks third all-time in career assists and first in the rally scoring era with 2,267 career assists — including 1,240 in 2011. Swansby was also a First Team All-NAC selection last season. … Sam Himmelspach recorded 417 digs last season, 15 more than Palmer. The two were among seven Eagles with 100 or more digs a year ago. … In his six seasons, head coach Paul Schlomer has engineered a massive turnaround of the Edgewood program. From 1998-2005, the Eagles never won more than 11 matches in a single season. In Schlomer's first three years, the Eagles won a total of just 21 matches, but have gone 16-17, 19-14 and 21-14 in the three most recent seasons.

Luther Norse
2012 Roster | 2011 Final Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Luther, which finished 17-14 overall in 2011, was picked fifth in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) preseason coaches' poll. … The Norse return three starters and six letterwinners off last year's team — led by Sophia Brown, an All-IIAC honorable mention last year. Brown ranked second on the team in kills (257), service aces (37) and total blocks (78; 27 solo), while also posting 64 digs. Her .275 hitting percentage ranked ninth among IIAC players and her 0.36 service aces per set ranked fifth. … Hannah Wilson appeared in 82 sets a year ago, posting 137 kills and a team-leading .302 attack percentage. … Luther boasted five players with 100 or more kills a year ago. … The Norse will be without the team-leading 940 assists from graduated senior setter Amanda Dietel. … The Norse played in seven five-set matches in 2011, going 6-1.

UW-La Crosse Eagles
2012 Roster | 2011 Final Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Lily Hallock begins her first year as UW-L's head coach in 2012. She replaces Sheila Perkins, who retired at the conclusion of the 2011 season ... Perkins' 392 career wins are the most in school history and rank sixth in the WIAC ... Hallock comes to UW-L after serving as a graduate assistant coach at Smith College (Mass.). She was a four-year starting setter at UC Santa Cruz from 1999-2003 ... UW-L, which went 7-23 in 2011, plays 14 of its first 16 matches on the road this season ... UW-L returns seven letterwinners, including two-time All-WIAC honorable mention selection Kayla Ashland, who recorded 223 kills (2.05 kps) and hit .234 a year ago. .… Ashland led UW-L in blocks last year (69). … Lauren Probst returns after leading the Eagles in kills (236) and ranking second in digs (253) a year ago. … Graduated senior and four-year letterwinner Liz Schlobohm accounted for 895 of the team's 1,030 assists a year ago. … UW-L won just one match by a 3-0 score a year ago, while recording four of its seven wins in five sets. … The Eagles were swept 15 times in 2011. … UW-L went 3-6 on its home court last season, but was just 4-17 away from home.

Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves
2012 Roster | 2011 Final Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Nebraska Wesleyan is under the guidance of first-year head coach Rayna Cain. … The Prairie Wolves, who had their streak of seven straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearances snapped last season, return four starters from the 2011 team that finished 16-12 overall. … Mackenzie Hite was named to the all-tournament team at all three tournaments that NWU participated in last season.  She led the team with 439 digs (4.35 dps). … The lone senior on the NWU roster this season is Hannah Softley, who is a three-year starter at middle hitter. …  Cody Long earned Second-Team All-GPAC as a freshman in 2011 after leading the Prairie Wolves with 244 kills (2.84 kps). … Long, who hit .196, was one of six Prairie Wolves to accumulate 100 or more kills in 2011. … Graduated senior Caitlin Anderson boasted a team-leading 862 assists last season, while also leading the team with 36 aces. … Sixteen of NWU's 28 matches were decided by 3-0 scores — the Prairie Wolves were 7-9 in those 16 matches. NWU was also 4-1 in matches that went the maximum five sets.