ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team, coming off a 3-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference loss to sixth-ranked St. Thomas Wednesday, returns to conference play on Saturday, traveling to Hamline for a 3 p.m. contest against the Pipers.
The Records
Saint Mary's (0-2 MIAC / 10-5 Overall)
St. Thomas (0-2 MIAC, 9-5 Overall)
Last Action: The Cardinals could not keep pace with the nationally ranked Tommies, as UST rolled to 25-13 and 25-12 victories in the first two sets en route to a 3-0 conference win over SMU on Wednesday in St. Paul, Minn. Hamline, meanwhile, dropped its second straight conference match Wednesday, falling to Augsburg 3-0 in Minneapolis, Minn.
Last Meeting: Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008: Fueled by the 13-kill efforts of Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) and Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.), the Cardinals picked up their fifth win in their last six matches, rolling over St. Catherine 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 22-25, 25-23) in Winona, Minn.
Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) collected six kills to lead the Cardinals vs. St. Thomas Wednesday. It was the first game this season the Cardinals were held without a double-digit kill leader. … Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) finished with 16 assists and Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn.) had a team-best 12 digs vs. the Tommies. … Rasmussen has now had 10 or more digs in 12 of the Cardinals' 15 matches, including a career-best 27 digs (twice). … For the third straight week, Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) collected all-tournament honors last weekend, as the junior was SMU's representative on the Simpson Invitational All-Tournament Team. Gardner earned similar honors at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic and the Wartburg Tournament. … Gardner now leads the team in kills (160 / 2.91 kps). … Kujak posted a career-best 12 blocks against Northwestern (Minn.) last Saturday, and followed that up with eight blocks vs. St. Thomas Wednesday. She now leads the team with 67 blocks. … The Cardinals' 3-2 loss to Augsburg on Sept. 16 snapped their eight-match winning streak. The streak was the fourth longest in program history. … Courtney Runge (St. James, Minn.) has recorded a double-double (kills and digs) in eight of the team's 15 matches. … Cherwinka's 50 assists vs. Augsburg on Sept. 16 were two shy of her career-best and marked the fourth time in her career the senior setter has recorded at least 50 assists. … Last Saturday's win vs. Northwestern marked the first time this season SMU has won a match when losing the first set. The Cardinals have dropped the first set in all five of their losses.
Hamline Piper Notes: Wednesday's 3-0 loss at Augsburg snapped the Pipers' four match winning streak — a streak in which Hamline did not lose a set, beating Crown, UM-Morris, Presentation and Bethany Lutheran by identical 3-0 scores. … All five of Hamline's losses have been by 3-0 decisions. … Tasha Simmons leads the team with 173 kills (3.68 kps) in 14 matches, while Anita Rojas has also eclipsed the 100-kill mark this season with 122. … Jackie Kelly has dished out a team-best 393 assists, while Heidi Larson is one of four Pipers with 100 or more digs, boasting a team-leading 280. … Seven of the Pipers' nine wins have come on the road — Hamline is 2-3 on its home court.
