WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team kicks off its 2016 schedule this weekend, hosting the annual Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic at the Gostomski Fieldhouse.
 
The Sugar Loaf Classic Field:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2015: 20-10 Overall), Finlandia Lions (2015: 16-18 Overall), Luther Norse (2015: 20-13), St. Catherine Wildcats (2015: 18-13 Overall), UW-Stevens Point Pointers (2015: 27-9), Carroll Pioneers (2015: 12-7 Overall), St. Norbert Green Knights (2015: 14-18)
 
The Sugar Loaf Classic Schedule:
Friday, September 2, 2016 * Court 1
• Saint Mary's vs. Finlandia, 2 p.m. | Luther vs. St. Catherine, 4 p.m. | Saint Mary's vs. St. Norbert, 6 p.m. | Finlandia vs. St. Catherine, 8 p.m.
Friday, September 2, 2016 * Court 2
• UW-Stevens Point vs. Carroll, 4 p.m. | Luther vs. Carroll, 6 p.m. | UW-Stevens Point vs. St. Norbert, 8 p.m.
Saturday, September 3, 2016 * Court 1
• UW-Stevens Point vs. Luther, 10 a.m. | Saint Mary's vs. Carroll, Noon | St. Catherine vs. St. Norbert, 2 p.m. | Saint Mary's vs. Luther, 4 p.m.
Saturday, September 3, 2016 * Court 2
• Finlandia vs. St. Norbert, Noon | Finlandia vs. UW-Stevens Point, 2 p.m. | St. Catherine vs. Carroll, 4 p.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats: Court 1 * Court 2 | Video Preview | Tournament Program

Previous Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classics:
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007
 
Last Action:
• This weekend's matches are the season-openers for all seven teams participating in the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Sugar Loaf Opponents—Their Last Meeting:
• vs. Finlandia * September 2, 2011 * Winona, Minn.: After going five sets in their season opener against UW-La Crosse in their first match of the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, Saint Mary's wasn't fooling around in match No. 2 against Finlandia. The Cardinals needed just 45 minutes to dispatch of the Lions, rolling to a 3-0 (25-8, 25-11, 25-4) victory at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• vs. St. Norbert * September 18, 2015 * Ripon, Wis.: Saint Mary's cruised to a 3-1 win over St. Norbert in their opening match of the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational, getting a career-high 36 digs from Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.), and 11 and 10 kills, respectively, from Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Cassidy Bittle (Winona, Minn.) | Recap
• vs. Carroll * September 20, 1997 * Winona, Minn.: Saturday's meeting will be the first in 19 years for the Cardinals and Pioneers, who have not met since Saint Mary's posted a 3-0 win at the Sugar Loaf Classic in 1997.
• vs. Luther * September 5, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals completed a 3-1 showing at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, jumping out to a dominating 25-12 win in the opening set, before adding 25-21 and 25-20 victories en route to a 3-0 victory over Luther | Recap
 
Cardinals Up Next:
• The Cardinals are back on their home court on Wednesday, hosting UW-Eau Claire in a 7 p.m. nonconference match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Cardinals boasted three players—seniors Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) and Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.), and junior Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.)—on the All-MIAC First-Team a year ago. It was the second straight All-MIAC honor for Krogstad, while Fadness and Urban were selected for the first time. … Fadness  garnered five First-Team All-MIAC honors in her collegiate career, having also been named to the MIAC's First-Team four times as a member of the Cardinal women's hockey team. … Saint Mary's made its third straight appearance in the MIAC Playoffs last season, falling to regular-season champion Gustavus 3-0 in the semifinals. It was the third consecutive semifinal showing for the Cardinals. … Saint Mary's has now played in 10 of the 15 conference tournaments since the MIAC moved to the single-elimination format. … The Cardinals' 3-0 win over Concordia on Nov. 3 was their 20^th win of the season—it's the third consecutive time, and the eighth time under coach Mike Lester, that Saint Mary's has won 20 or more matches in a season. … Fadness closed out the season with a team- and career-best 334 kills. She recorded 10 or more kills in 21 of the team's 30 matches. … Fadness, who notched a season- and career-high 18 kills three times last season, was one of six Cardinals who eclipsed the 100-kill plateau a year ago—Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn. / 245), Cassidy Bittle (Winona, Minn. / 219), Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn. / 204), Urban (187), and Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn. / 133) are the others. … Lind banged out a career-high 15 kills to pace the Cardinals against Saint Benedict on Oct. 2, while Urban's 14-kill effort vs. the Blazers was also a career high. … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) and Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) shared the majority of the setting duties last season, with Hanson owning a team-best 518 assists, while MacVey is close behind with 484. … Hanson recorded 20 or more assists in a match 14 times last season, one more than MacVey. … MacVey posted her team-leading sixth and seventh double-doubles of the season in the Cardinals' two MIAC Playoff matches, tallying 15 assists and 13 digs against Concordia, and 12 assists and 11 digs against Gustavus. … Hanson notched her first double-double of the season with 29 assists and 10 digs against St. Olaf on Oct. 7. … Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.) posted 17 assists and a career-best 12 digs en route to her first collegiate double-double against St. Thomas on Sept. 26. … Hanson tallied a season-high 31 assists vs. Saint Benedict on Oct. 2. … Sullivan collected 10 or more digs in 20 of the team's 30 matches—including a season-high 22 digs vs. Wisconsin Lutheran on Sept. 5 and St. Olaf on Oct. 7. … Krogstad notched her first double-double of the season vs. Hamline on Sept. 23, recording 16 digs and 11 assists. … Krogstad, who equaled her career-high with 36 digs against St. Norbert on Sept. 18, posted a team-best 509 digs last season—marking the fourth consecutive season of 500 or more digs—and closed out her collegiate career second all-time with 2,112 career digs. Krogstad was just the second player ever to reach the 2,000-dig plateau and finished just 80 digs shy of school record-holder Theresa Perrini. … Krogstad recorded 10 or more digs in 24 of the Cardinals' 30 matches—including 20 of the last 22. … The Cardinals finished 9-5 in three-set matches, 8-3 in four-setters and 3-1 in matches extended to a fifth set. … The Cardinals snapped a season-high four-match losing streak with their victory over Augsburg on Oct. 14. The four-match slide was their longest since dropping four in a row early in the 2014 season. … The Cardinals' 3-2 loss to Saint Benedict on Oct. 2 snapped their season-high seven-match winning streak. … With their 3-1 win over St. Thomas on Sept. 26, Saint Mary's snapped a 14-match losing streak against the Tommies, dating back to a 3-1 triumph on Oct. 2, 2002—also on the Tommies' home court. … With their  playoff victory over Concordia on Nov. 3, the Cardinals finished with an 8-2 on their home court this season. …The Cardinals put together their best 19-match start to the season in program history last season, going 16-3. … With their 3-1 win over UW-Eau Claire on Sept. 1, the Cardinals are now 5-0 in their last five season openers.
 
Scouting The Finlandia Lions:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Lions are coming off a 16-18 season a year ago. … Finlandia, which had no seniors and one junior on the squad a year ago, reached the Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) Tournament semifinals, falling to Agnes Scott 3-0. … The Lions return four players who earned conference post-season honors a year ago—Anaya Merriweather was named GSAC Libero of the Year, while Katelyn Anderson and Devin Bristley were First-Team All-GSAC, and Marina Dalton was named to the All-Freshman Team. … The Lions finished the year with four players—Katelyn Anderson (137), Bristley (132), Dalton (124), and Natalia Vazquez (115)—with 100 or more kills. … Emma Nelson closed out the 2015 season as the team's assist leader with 412, while Nicole Anderson chipped in 119. … Katelyn Anderson collected a team-high 216 digs, seven more than Bristley and 15 in front of Merriweather. … Seven of Finlandia's 12 wins in 2015 came on its home court, where they Lions were 7-5. FU was 2-6 on the road and 3-2 in neutral-site matches.
 
Scouting The Luther Norse:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Norse put together a 20-13 campaign in 2013, including a 4-3 mark in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. … Luther boasted a pair of all-conference performers in Emma Veum and Lindsey Ryan. Veum was named Co-Freshman of the Year last season, becoming the first Norse to earn the honor. … Veum closed out her freshman campaign as the team-leader in kills (286), attack percentage (.348), and blocks (81), despite missing four matches. … Luther does enter 2016 without the services of Ryan, who wrapped up her Luther career as the school's all-time assist lead with 4,365, shattering the old mark of 3,609. … Ryan tallied 1,020 assists last season, while also adding 200 digs, 52 blocks, and 45 kills. … Veum was one of four Norse to record 200 or more kills a year ago—Anna Larson (261), Lexie Erickson (257), and Brandi Knupp (203) were the others. … Ryan accounted for 1,020 of the team's 1,286 assists a year ago. … Luther had six players record 10 or more aces in 2015, led by Taylor Gaide with 43, and Ryan and Knupp with 28 each. … Gaide was also the team-leader in digs with 474, leading five Luther players with 200 or more digs. … Fifteen of Luther's 20 wins were 3-0 sweeps, while the Norse also went 5-1 in four-set matches. Luther was winless in its three five-set matches in 2015. … Luther played its last six matches a year ago in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, going 2-2 at the Coe College Mabel Lee Invitational, before dropping back-to-back showdowns with the Kohawks—including a 3-0 setback in the opening round of the IIAC Tournament. … 
 
Scouting The St. Catherine Wildcats:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• After winning just two conference matches over the previous two seasons, the Wildcats put together a 4-7 MIAC mark in 2015 en route to an 18-13 overall record. … SCU returns All-MIAC First-Teamer Shanee Herd, who became the Wildcat's first all-conference performer since the 2012 season. … Herd posted a team- and conference-leading 675 digs a year ago—the second-highest single-season effort in program history—including 20 matches of 20 digs or more, and a season-best 37-dig effort against St. Olaf on Oct. 28. … Herd enters her senior season with 1,530 career digs, just 477 behind school record-holder Nicole Neumann. … St. Catheirne boasted seven players with 100 or more kills, including three—Alyssa Besch (286), Sabrina Astar (224), and Megan Lindenfeiser (201)—who eclipsed the 200-kill plateau. … Hayley Levenhagen and Maria Davis shared the setting duties a year ago, dishing out 489 and 433 assists, respectively. … Levenhagen collected a team-high 29 aces and was one of seven Wildcats with 10 or more aces. … Half of St. Catherine's 18 wins were decided in four sets. SCU finished 4-8 in three-set matches last season, while going 9-4 in four-setters and 5-1 in matches going the maximum five sets. … The Wildcats finished 2016 5-6 on their home court, adding a 5-5 mark on the road and an 8-2 showing in neutral-court matches.
 
Scouting The UW-Stevens Point Pointers:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Pointers are coming off a 27-9 season a year ago that included a 2-1 showing in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, and a two-match run at the NCAA Division III Regional. … Last season's regional appearance was the fifth straight national tournament appearance and 10^th in program history. … UW-Stevens Point enters 2016 without the services of graduated seniors Emma Brunkhorst and Hannah Picel, who finished their careers with a 124-28 record (.816) in four seasons. The duo were part of four NCAA Tournament teams, including national semifinal appearances in 2013 and 2014, and won two Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) regular season and three tournament titles. … The Pointers closed out 2015 ranked No. 16 in the final AVCA Top 25. … UW-Stevens Point has been ranked by the AVCA for 31 consecutive weeks, spanning the last two and a half seasons, and is one of just 12 programs to be ranked for that entire stretch. … Kelly Cefalu recorded a team-high 393 kills last season. She and Gabby Thomas were the only Pointers to amass 300 or more kills a year ago. … Brittany Laffin dished out 1,402 assists last season, accounting for all but 201 of the Pointers' total assists. … UW-Stevens Point closed out the year with 175 aces, led by Kendra Kundinger (38), Picel (31), and Laffin (30). … Picel finished with a team-best 647 digs and was one of six Pointers with 200 or more digs. … Along with her 257 kills and team-best .251 attack percentage, Brunkhorst recorded a team-high 112 blocks last season. … UW-Stevens Point finished 17-4 in three-set matches last season, while going 3-2 in four-setters and 7-3 in matches extended to a fifth set. … The Pointers lost just once in their 11 home matches in 2016, adding a 5-5 record on the road, and a 12-3 mark in neutral-site matches.
 
Scouting The Carroll Pioneers:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Pioneers posted a 12-17 overall record a year ago—a mark that included seven of those 12 wins in Midwest Conference play. … Carroll reached the semifinals of the Midwest Conference Tournament last season, falling to regular-season champion Cornell 3-0. … After 23 years in the Midwest Conference, the Pioneers are returning to the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) this season—Carroll was a member of the CCIW from 1955-1992. … Carroll boasted a pair of All-MWC First-Team selections a year ago, as both Caitlin Dolan and Kelly Sloyan were named to the squad. … Sloyan led the Pioneers in kills with 264, 10 more than Dolan and 13 in front of Dana Voltolina. … Taylor Kuehl accounted for 918 of the team's 1,147 total assists, while Sloyan and Rachel Harn shared the team lead with 27 aces—leading eight Pioneers with 10 or more aces. … Carroll finished 2016 with five players amassing 200 or more digs, led by Katie Pringle with 430 and Kuehl with 260. … Dolan was the Pioneers' leader in blocks with 67, 16 in front of Voltolina. … Carroll collected five wins both at home (5-4) and on the road (5-7), while finishing 2-6 in neutral-site matches.
 
Scouting The St. Norbert Green Knights:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Green Knights head into 2016 on the heels of a 14-18 season a year ago, that included an 8-2 record in Midwest Conference play—and a berth in the MWC Tournament championship match, where SNC fell to regular-season champion Cornell 3-1. … St. Norbert has now played in the MWC Tournament's title match in each of the last eight seasons. … St. Norbert returns a pair of all-conference performances in Halie Ferry—an All-MWC First-Team selection—and All-MWC Second-Teamer Aubree Antosch. … Ferry recorded a team-leading 354 kills in her freshman season with the Green Knights last year, while also adding a .211 attack percentage. … Kristina Herman (224), Hannah Johnshoy (222), Justice Janke (140), Erin Lang (139), and Anika Johnson (131) also recorded 100 or more kills for the Green Knights a year ago. … SNC had three players post more than 100 assists in 2016, led by Kaitlin Delahaut with 607. … Emily Kapalko totaled a team-leading 30 aces, three more than Delahaut, while Johnson and Johnshoy led the Green Knights with 45 and 44 blocks, respectively. … Antosch finished the season with 508 digs, leading six SNC players with 100 or more digs. … Nine of the Green Knights' 14 wins came in 3-0 victories. SNC finished 9-8 in three-set backs, 3-7 in four-setters, and 2-3 in matches extended to a fifth set. … St. Norbert lost just once on its home court (5-1), while going 3-5 on the road and 6-12 in neutral-site matches.