WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team, which kicked off its conference schedule with a 3-0 victory over Augsburg last Wednesday, returns to MIAC action on Wednesday, playing host to nationally ranked St. Thomas in a 7 p.m. contest at the SMU Gym.



The Teams:
Saint Mary's Cardinals: 1-0 MIAC / 8-2 Overall
St. Thomas Tommies: 0-1 MIAC / 9-3 Overall

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Last Action:
The Cardinals have been off since last Wednesday, when Sarah Gardner banged out a match-high 13 kills in leading SMU to a convincing 3-0 win over Augsburg in the teams' conference opener in Minneapolis, Minn. St. Thomas, meanwhile, is coming off a perfect 4-0 showing at the Luther Invitational in Decorah, Iowa.

Last Meeting — September 23, 2009
St. Thomas made quick work of the Cardinals in their conference match a year ago, beating SMU 3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-20) in St. Paul, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
The Cardinals enter tonight's match ranked No. 24 in the latest AVCA Top 25 Poll. It's the fourth straight week the Cardinals have been ranked among the nation's top 25. … With their conference-opening win over Augsburg last Wednesday, the Cardinals enter tonight's MIAC matchup boasting eight wins in their first 10 matches. … Last Wednesday's win over the Auggies snapped the Cardinals' three-match losing streak vs. Augsburg — with all three of those matches decided by a 3-2 score. … Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) collected a match-high 13 kills vs. Augsburg, pushing her team-leading total to 136 (4.00 kps). … Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.) has also collected more than 100 kills through SMU's 10 matches, entering tonight's match with 118. … Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) is hitting a team-best .389, while Gardner boasts a team-leading 11 service aces and Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) owns the team lead in assists with 209. … Gardner, a First-Team All-MIAC and AVCA All-Central Region selection — while also earning honorable-mention All-American honors a year ago — enters Wednesday's MIAC match vs. St. Thomas with 1,126 career kills, while Mate is close behind at 1,070. … Six of the Cardinals' eight wins have been 3-0 decisions. SMU has played one five-set match — beating Loras 3-2.

St. Thomas Tommies News and Notes:
The Tommies — who enter tonight's match ranked No. 15 in the latest AVCA Top 25 — were unstoppable at the Luther Invitational, beating both nationally ranked Nebraska Wesleyan and Simpson by 3-1 counts on Friday, then sweeping both Bluffton and Northland 3-0. … Katie Bonine enters tonight's match vs. SMU as the team's offensive leader, boasting a team-leading 123 kills (3.42 kps), while also hitting .259. … Alesha Nelson is just seven kills short of giving the Tommies their second 100-kill performer of the season. … Jill Osborne is hitting a team-leading .347. … Emily Foster has dished out 453 of the team's 470 assists. … Kaitlain Wachter leads UST with 251 digs. She is one of four Tommies with 100 of more digs through 12 matches. … Five of UST's nine wins have been 3-0 sweeps. On the flip side, two of the Tommies' three losses have been by 3-1 scores.