NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team, coming off a 3-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference loss to No. 15 St. Thomas at the SMU Gym Wednesday evening, hits the road for a 3 p.m. conference match against Carleton on Saturday. Due to recent rains and wet conditions in the Carleton Gym, the match has been moved to St. Olaf College.


The Teams:
Saint Mary's Cardinals: 1-1 MIAC / 8-3 Overall
St. Thomas Tommies: 1-1 MIAC / 7-6 Overall

GameDay Live On The Web:
Coach Lester Preview

Last Action:
The Cardinals had their three-match winning streak snapped Wednesday, as 15th-ranked St. Thomas came into the SMU Gym and handed SMU a 3-0 conference setback. Carleton, meanwhile, evened its MIAC record at 1-1 with a 3-1 victory over Gustavus Wednesday in Northfield, Minn.

Last Meeting — September 30, 2009:
The Cardinals raced out to a 2-0 lead with convincing 25-18 and 25-23 victories, struggled to find their groove in dropping Sets 3 and 4, 25-20 and 25-21, before getting back on track with a 15-10 fifth set win that gave SMU the 3-2 win at the SMU Gym.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
SMU's loss to St. Thomas snapped its three-match winning streak. … Wednesday's loss was just the second home loss in six matches at SMU Gym. It was also just the second time in 11 matches that the Cardinals failed to win at least one set. … The Cardinals enter today's MIAC match vs. Carleton 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. … Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) collected a match-high 12 kills and hit .258 against the Tommies. The senior right-side hitter has now collected 10 or more kills in eight of the team's 11 matches — including a season-high 22 vs. Loras on Sept. 4. … Gardner now leads the team with 148 kills (4.00 kps) and boasts 1,138 career kills. … Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.) is second on the team in kills with 121, and, like Gardner, continues to climb up the career kills ladder, entering this afternoon's match with 1,073. … Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) is hitting a team-best .335, while Gardner boasts a team-leading 11 service aces and Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) owns the team lead in assists with 214. … Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn.) leads the team in digs with 165 and is one of four Cardinals with 70 or more digs through 11 matches. … Six of the Cardinals' eight wins have been 3-0 decisions. SMU has played one five-set match — beating Loras 3-2. … SMU has won the first set in seven of its 11 matches, while winning the second set in eight of its 11 contests.

Carleton Knights News and Notes:
After opening the season with just two wins in their first eight matches, the Knights enter this afternoon's contest against Saint Mary's riding a five-match winning streak. … Today's match is just the third home match for the Knights, who are a perfect 2-0 on their home court. … Kelly Lovett recorded a team-leading 15 kills for the Knights in their 3-1 conference win over Gustavus Wednesday evening. … Lovett now leads the team in kills with 153 (3.40 kps), while Jessa Youso has also eclipsed the century mark in kills this season, entering today's match with 128. … Lovett and Youso own the team's 10-best kill performances of the season, including a season-high 22-kill effort from Lovett vs. UW-River Falls on Sept. 10. … Youso also carries a team-leading .299 attack percentage. … Beth Jarrett has dished out 399 assists through 13 matches, while Erin Anderson leads the team with 185 digs. She is one of four Knights with 100 or more digs this season. … Four of the Knights' 13 matches have gone the maximum five sets, with Carleton winning three of those.