DUBUQUE, Iowa — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team, coming off a 3-0 conference win over Hamline Wednesday at the SMU Gym, steps out of conference play this weekend, taking part in the IIAC-MIAC Border Battle. SMU will face the University of Dubuque and host Loras on Friday, then square off against Coe and Central-Iowa on Saturday.


The Cardinals' Opponents:
University of Dubuque Spartans: 0-4 IIAC / 6-11 Overall
Loras Duhawks: 4-0 IIAC / 12-4 Overall
Coe Kohawks: 2-2 IIAC / 11-4 Overall
Central-Iowa Dutch: 3-0 IIAC / 12-3 Overall

Cardinals' Tournament Schedule:
Friday, Oct. 1: SMU vs. U. of Dubuque, 2 p.m. / SMU vs. Loras, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 2: SMU vs. Coe, 10 a.m. / SMU vs. Central-Iowa, 2 p.m.

Cardinals' Last Action:
The Cardinals pushed their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record to 3-0 Wednesday evening, posting a convincing 3-1 victory over Hamline at the SMU Gym.

Cardinals at 2009 Border Battle:
The Cardinals went a perfect 4-0 at the 2009 Border Battle in Northfield, Minn., sweeping Cornell, Luther and U. of Dubuque, before completing the perfect run with a 3-1 win over Buena Vista.

Last Meeting vs. Border Battle Opponents:
The Cardinals have already faced one of their Border Battle opponents — Loras — this season, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Duhawks 3-2 during the SMU Sugar Loaf Classic on Sept. 4. … SMU and the University of Dubuque met at last year's Border Battle, with the Cardinals getting 10 kills from Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) in a 3-0 SMU victory. … SMU and Coe have not met since the 2008 season, when the Cardinals rode the 16-kill performance of Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) to a 3-0 win at the Wartburg Invitational. … You have to go all the way back to the 2004 IIAC-MIAC Border Battle to find the last time SMU and Central-Iowa have met, with the then-8th-ranked Dutch coming away with a 3-2 victory.

GameDay Live On The Web:
Coach Lester Preview

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
With their 3-0 win over Hamline on Wednesday, the Cardinals improved to 3-1 in the MIAC and 10-3 overall. With Wednesday's win, SMU has now collected seven of its 10 victories via 3-0 sweeps. … Wednesday's win over the Pipers was also the Cardinals' fifth in their last six games. … SMU enters this weekend's Border Battle ranked No. 24 in the latest AVCA Top 25. … Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) collected a team- and match-high 12 kills in Wednesday's win over Hamline. It was the 10th time in SMU's 13 matches that Gardner has recorded 10 or more kills. … Gardner now leads the team with 176 kills and boasts 1,166 career kills. … Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.) chipped in 11 kills vs. the Pipers and is second on the team with 138 kills. Mate's 11 kills also pushed her career kill total to 1,090. … SMU used three different setters — Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn. / 15 assists), Rachel Monterastelli (Wonder Lake, Ill. / 13 assists) and Cathy Rennie (Pine Island, Minn. / 16 assists) — in its win vs. Hamline. … Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.), who banged out a season-high 18 kills in last Saturday's 3-1 win over Carleton, leads the team in hitting with a .365 attack percentage and has also collected 100 or more kills this season, entering the weekend with 120. … The Cardinals posted 11 service aces vs. Hamline Wednesday. … SMU has five players with 10 or more aces, led by Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn.) with 17. … Rasmussen also leads the team in digs with 183, while Cherwinka has a team-leading 274 assists and enters the Border Battle with 2,601 career assists, ranking her No. 4 all time.

University of Dubuque Spartans News and Notes:
The Spartans are coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 IIAC home loss against Coe on Wednesday. … Wednesday's loss to the Kohawks was the second straight for the University of Dubuque, which had put together a season-high three-game winning streak with three straight wins at the Wheaton Invitational on Sept. 24-25. … Kristin Mortensen and Lauren McKissick were named IIAC Players of the Week for this past week. Mortenson posted 107 digs to earn Defensive Player of the Week honors, while McKissick was named the IIAC Offensive Player of the Week after she posted 78 kills, 35 digs, and 6.0 blocks last week. … McKissick enters the weekend as the team's kill leader with 249 (3.66 kps), while Carly Green is second with 138 kills (2.03 kps). … Green also leads the team in attack percentage (.319). … Lindsay Ellinor is the team-leading in assists with 440, and Mortenson's 353 digs are a team-best. … Mortenson is one of four Spartans with 100 or more digs. … Wednesday's match vs. Coe was the sixth time this season the Spartans have gone the maximum five sets. Unfortunately, they are just 1-5 in those six five-setters. … Five of the Spartans' six wins have come on the road. UD is just 1-7 on its home court.

Loras Duhawks News and Notes:
With their 3-0 win over Buena Vista Wednesday, the Duhawks maintained their hold on the top spot in the IIAC standings with a perfect 4-0 record. … The Duhawks opened the season with nine wins in their first 10 matches, with the lone blemish a 3-2 loss to Saint Mary's at the Sugar Loaf Classic. … Kate Russell leads the team with 175 kills and is one of three Duhawks with 100 or more kills this season. … Julie Rogers and Kaity Frost have shared the setting duties, with Rogers accumulating 338 assists, while Frost is close behind with 218. The two have accounted for 554 of the team's 605 assists. … Loras has collected 92 service aces, led by Rogers (24) and Regan Riley (20). … Riley also leads the team in digs with 210 and is one of six Duhawks with 100 or more digs. … Six of Loras' 12 wins have been 3-0 sweeps. The Duhawks are a perfect 4-0 in four-set matches, while going 2-2 in five-setters. … Ten of Loras' 12 wins have come on the road. The Duhawks are 2-0 on their home court.

Coe Kohawks News and Notes:
Coe rallied from a 2-1 deficit to beat the University of Dubuque 3-2 last Wednesday and even its IIAC record at 2-2. … With Wednesday's win, the Kohawks have doubles their league win total from the past two seasons. … Wednesday's win over UD also snapped the Kohawks' first two-match losing streak of the season. … Kaitlyn McClimon led the way for the Kohawks on Wednesday, collecting 20 kills. … With her 20 kills Wednesday, McClimon pushed her team-leading kill total to 184, eight kills better than teammate Molly Steffens. The two are among four Kohawks with 100 or more kills this season. … McClimon is also hitting a team-best .299, while Emily Ryan is the team's assist leader with 515. … Megan Barron has accounted for 24 of the team's 94 service aces. She is among six players with 10 or more aces. … Brittany Shickell has collected 243 digs and is among five Kohawks with 100 or more digs. … Coe is 6-1 in three-set matches and 2-0 in five-setters. … Ten of Coe's 11 wins have come on the road.

Central-Iowa Dutch News and Notes:
The Dutch ran their winning streak to seven straight and stayed unbeaten in IIAC play with their 3-1 win over Cornell Tuesday evening. … After going 3-2 in their first five matches, the Dutch are now 9-1 in their last 10 matches. … Haley Brillhart hit a match-high .483 and led the team with 15 kills vs. Cornell Tuesday. … Caitlin Kouba leads the Dutch with 129 kills, while Brillhart is three kills back at 126. … Brillhart is also hitting a team-best .335. … Maggie Snyder has accounted for 508 of the team's 595 assists. … Chelsea Grieger leads the team in service aces (14) and digs (281). … Grieger is one of four Dutch players with 100 or more digs. … Seven of Central's 12 wins have been 3-0 sweeps. The Dutch are also 4-1 in four-set matches and 1-1 in five-setters. … Central is a perfect 3-0 on its home court, going 8-3 away from home.