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CHICAGO, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team made it look easy Friday afternoon during the first day of the two-day North Park Viking Clash.

The Cardinals — who opened the season by going 2-2 at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic a week ago — dropped just one set in rolling to Day 1 wins over Marian and Aurora Friday.

SMU cruised to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-16) win over Marian in their tournament opener, then — after hitting a bump in the road with a 25-21 loss in the opening set against Aurora — bounced back with three straight wins, 25-19, 25-20, 25-8, for the 3-1 victory.

Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) and Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) led the Cardinals' offensive charge against Marian, with Peterson collecting a team-best 11 kills, while Nordick added 10 kills and hit a whopping .562. Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) accounted for 35 of the team's 37 assists and Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) tallied a team-high 11 digs.

Against Aurora, Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn.) took center stage, recording a career-high 14 kills, with Molly Grover (Zumbrota, Minn.) chipping in nine. Assimos compiled 29 more assists and tallied four aces, while Krogstad notched 21 digs and Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) chipped in 18 digs and six aces.

The Cardinals (4-2 overall) are back in action on Saturday, squaring off against Dennison — the tournament's other unbeaten team after Day 1 — and Manchester during the second day of the two-day North Park Viking Clash.