vs.
Saint Mary's Cardinals   4-5 MIAC / 16-11 Overall		Carleton Knights   4-5 MIAC / 10-13 Overall

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Last Action: The Cardinals saw their run to an MIAC playoff berth hit a pot hole last Friday, as SMU dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to Augsburg. … Carleton, meanwhile, also came out on the short end of a five-set match, losing to 12th-ranked Concordia 3-2 on Saturday.

Last Meeting: The Cardinals got out of the blocks in a hurry a year ago against the high-powered Knights — who came into the match with a gaudy 18-3 overall record and a No. 21 ranking in the latest AVCA national poll — winning the opening game 30-23. From there, however, it was all Carleton, as the Knights won the next three games, 30-23, 30-15, 30-21, en route to the 3-1 MIAC win.

All-Time Series Record: With their win against SMU a year ago, Carleton improved to 23-16-1 all-time vs. the Cardinals, dating back to the 1976 season.

Playoff Picture: With two matches remaining in the conference season, the Cardinals enter tonight's match in a three-way tie with Augsburg and Carleton for sixth and final MIAC playoff spot, one game behind St. Olaf. SMU closes out its conference schedule vs. Carleton (today) and 7-2 Gustavus (Saturday). The Knights have SMU and 5-4 St. Olaf, while Augsburg faces 1-8 St. Catherine and 9-0 St. Thomas.

Cardinal Notes: Friday's loss to Augsburg was just the second loss in the last seven matches for SMU. … The Cardinals are looking to put an end to their six-match losing streak vs. Carleton tonight. SMU's last win vs. the Knights was a 3-0 victory in 2002. …  Tonight's match vs. Carleton is SMU's third of five straight home matches. The Cardinals opened the season with just one home match — a 3-0 win vs. Bethel on Sept. 27 — in its first 25 matches. … Friday's loss to Augsburg was just the fourth five-set match SMU has played this season. The Cardinals are 2-2 in those four five-setters. … Ten of SMU's 16 wins have been 3-1 decisions, while six of the Cardinals' 11 losses have been 3-0 sweeps. … Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.) led the SMU offensive attack vs. Augsburg, posting 20 kills, while hitting .255. It was the second time this season Mate has posted 20 or more kills in a match. … Courtney Runge (St. James, Minn. / 14 kills), Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn. / 12 kills) and Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis. / 11 kills) also had 10 or more kills vs. Augsburg. … Theresa Perrini (Fairway, Kan.) finished with 41 digs vs. the Auggies, giving the SMU senior 608 digs this season, while also pushing her school-record career total to 2,078. … Perrini is just 82 digs shy of her single-season record of 690 (set last year) with three matches to play. … Perrini leads the MIAC in digs (188) and digs/set (7.23). …  The Cardinals boast four players with 200 or more kills — led by Mate (287) and Gardner (284), while SMU has six players with 100 or more digs. … The Cardinals are 0-3 vs. nationally ranked teams this season, having lost to No. 5 St. Thomas (3-1), No. 25 Saint Benedict (3-0) and No. 12 Concordia (3-0). … The Cardinals' sweep at the UW-River Falls Invitational on Oct. 10-11 marked the second time this season the Cardinals have been perfect in tournament play — having also gone 4-0 at the season-opening Elmhurst Tournament.
 
Knight Notes: Saturday's loss to Concordia was the Knights' third in their last four matches. … Carleton has now fallen to 0-3 in five-set matches, having also lost in five sets to Saint Benedict and Haverford. … Megan La Chapelle collected 14 kills and 17 digs to pace the Knights in their loss to Concordia Saturday. … La Chapelle leads the Knights in kills (209) and kills/set (2.55) — is second to Laura Barsness (367) with 310 digs — while Sarah Knuelius boast a team-leading .277 attack percentage. … Beth Jarrett is the team's assist leader (539) and Annie Eckhoff has accumulated a team-high 80 blocks. … Seven of Carleton's 10 wins have come in three sets.