NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Saint Mary's University volleyball, coming off a 3-1 loss at Bethel on Saturday, return to conference play Wednesday, traveling to St. Olaf for a 7 p.m. contest against the Oles.

Records:

Last Action: The Cardinals saw their winning streak snapped at three Saturday, as SMU started slow and never recovered in falling to Bethel 3-1 in Arden Hills, Minn. St. Olaf, meanwhile, suffered just its third loss of the season Saturday, dropping a 3-0 decision to Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., Friday.

Last Meeting: October 8, 2006: The Cardinals, squaring off against St. Olaf in a key Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match, came close — oh so close — but came up just short, as the Oles held off SMU 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-13).

MIAC Tournament Picture: Despite their 3-0 loss to Saint Benedict on Friday, the Oles have already locked up one of the six MIAC Tournament spots, joining league-leading Saint Benedict and St. Thomas in the tournament field. With two conference matches — and just three tournament berths — remaining, SMU, St. Catherine, Concordia and Augsburg are all tied for fourth at 5-4. SMU has already played the other three fourth-place teams, beating St. Catherine and losing to both Concordia and Augsburg — all by 3-2 decisions. SMU closes out the regular season vs. St. Olaf (7-2) and Gustavus (3-6), while St. Catherine faces Saint Benedict (8-1) and Macalester (0-9); Concordia has Hamline (2-7) and Saint Benedict (8-1); and Augsburg takes on Carleton (3-6) and St. Thomas (8-1). MIAC Tournament Tiebreakers

Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: SMU enters today's match ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Division III Central Region Poll. … SMU's 20 wins eclipse the 19 wins over a year ago and are the most since 2004, when the Cardinals went 21-10. … Saturday's loss to Bethel snapped the Cardinals' three-match winning streak. … Bethel handed SMU a 25-20 setback in Set 1 Saturday, marking the sixth time in the last seven matches that the Cardinals have lost the first set. … Despite Saturday's loss, SMU enters today's match having won 10 of their last 12 and 12 of their last 15. … Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.), who recorded her 2,000th career assist on match point in last Tuesday's win over Northwestern, finished with 85 assists in SMU's weekend matches vs. Macalester and Bethel. … Cherwinka's assist No. 2,000 was the 55th of the match vs. Northwestern, marking the fifth time this season the senior setter has recorded 50 or more assists. … Cherwinka is now just 26 assists shy of 1,000 for the season. … Speaking of career milestones, Courtney Runge (St. James, Minn.) collected 12 digs vs. the Royals Saturday, giving the senior outside hitter 1,005 digs in her four-year collegiate career. … SMU posted season highs in digs (85) and kills (79) in its 3-2 win over St. Catherine on Oct. 14. The Cardinals' 79 kills are the most since recording 83 kills in a five-set, 3-2 win over Saint Benedict on Sept. 24, 2004. … Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.), who recorded a team-best 15 kills vs. Bethel Saturday, has now had 15 or more kills in five of her last six matches. … Runge, Mate and Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) have all eclipsed the century mark in both kills and digs, with Runge boasting 264 kills and 311 digs, while Mate has 290 kills and 129 digs, and Gardner has totaled a team-leading 324 kills and 148 digs. … Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn.) leads the team in digs with 406 and is one of six Cardinals with 100 or more digs.

St. Olaf Ole Notes: The Oles enter today's match ranked No. 23 in the latest AVCA Top 25 Poll. … Friday's loss to Saint Benedict snapped the Oles' 15-match winning streak, dating back to a 3-1 loss to St. Thomas on Sept. 16. The Oles' 15-game winning streak was also the program's longest since 1996, when St. Olaf won 16 in a row and reached the NCAA semifinals. … St. Olaf boasts a 7-1 record on its home floor, while going 16-2 on the road. … Friday's loss to CSB was the first time this season the Oles have been swept. St. Olaf is now 14-1 in three-set matches, 7-2 in four-setters and a perfect 2-0 in matches that have gone the maximum five sets. … Kim Smisek has been the Oles' offensive leader, boasting 427 kills, while hitting .322. Smisek is the only Ole with more than 200 kills, while Katie Wolfram (196), Melissa Burch (178) and Paige Olson (188) have all eclipsed the 100-kill barrier. … Kelly Prunty is just four assists shy of 1,000 for the season, entering today's match at 996. … Alyssa Williams boasts a team-best 394 digs, while Smisek (231), Prunty (124) and Kristin Boym (107) all have recorded 100 or more digs. …