WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team, which picked up its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory with a 3-1 triumph over Hamline Saturday, returns to conference play — and returns home — Wednesday with a match against Carleton at the SMU Gym.

Last Action: The Cardinals picked up its first conference win of the season, shaking off a slow start to beat Hamline 3-1 in St. Paul, Minn., Saturday. Carleton, meanwhile, has been off since Friday, when the Knights also dropped the opening set of its conference match against Bethel, before winning three straight en route to a 3-1 victory in Arden Hills, Minn.

Last Meeting: Wednesday, October 29, 2008: SMU — getting 12 kills from both Courtney Runge (St. James, Minn.) and Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) — kept those post-season tournament hopes alive, rolling to a lopsided 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-12) victory at the SMU Gym.

Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: Jessica Larson (Pine Island, Minn.) and Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) led the way for the Cardinals against Hamline Saturday, collecting 11 kills each. Larson also hit .417, while Kujak chipped in nine blocks. … Kujak, who posted a career-best 12 blocks against Northwestern (Minn.) on Sept. 22, now leads the team with 76 blocks. … Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn.) collected 14 digs vs. the Pipers Saturday and has now had 10 or more digs in 13 of the Cardinals' 16 matches — including a career-best 27 digs (twice). … Rasmussen boasts a team-best 248 digs, while Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) has dished out a team-leading 514 assists. … Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) — who has been named to the all-tournament team in each of SMU's three tournaments this season — leads the squad with 170 kills (2.88 kps) and is one of five Cardinals with 100 or more kills. … Courtney Runge (St. James, Minn.) is second on the team in both kills (163) and digs (172). … SMU's two conference losses this season have come against teams that are still unbeaten in the MIAC — Augsburg (3-0) and St. Thomas (3-0). … Saturday's win vs. Hamline marked just the second 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.

Carleton Knight Notes: Friday's win over Bethel was the fifth straight win for the Knights, who are 7-1 in their last eight matches. … Kelly Lovett leads the Knights' offense, collecting 168 kills (3.91 kps), while honorable-mention All-American Annie Eckhoff has recorded 107 kills (2.49 kps) and is hitting a team-best .342. … Lovett — who boasted a team-leading 19 kills vs. Bethel, marking the 11th time this season she has led the team in kills — has also posted a team-leading 24 aces, with Eckhoff leading the team in blocks with 52. … Laura Barsness is the team's digs leader (242) — including a career-best 34 vs. Bethel Friday — and Beth Jarrett has accumulated a team-high 374 assists. … Five of Carleton's nine wins have come in three sets, while two of their three losses have been 3-1 decisions. The Knights have played just one five-set match, a 3-2 victory over Grinnell on Sept. 18.