WINONA, Minn.  — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team looks to close out the home portion of its schedule on a high note Wednesday, as the Cardinals host Bethel in a 7 p.m. MIAC match at the SMU Gym.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-5 MIAC | 13-9 Overall)
vs. Bethel Royals (5-1 MIAC | 15-6 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped their second match in as many days on Saturday, as 10th-ranked Concordia handed SMU a 3-0 conference setback at the SMU Gym. SMU had opened the weekend falling to Saint Benedict 3-1 on Friday. … Bethel, meanwhile, went 2-0 in conference play last weekend, shutting out Gustavus 3-0 in St. Peter, Minn., on Friday, before blanking Hamline 3-0 in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday.

Cardinals vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
October 23, 2010: The Cardinals closed out a perfect 2-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference weekend, bouncing back from a sub-par opening set to beat Bethel 3-1 (31-29, 25-13, 25-20, 25-22) at the SMU Gym.

Up Next:
The Cardinals step out of conference play this weekend, traveling to Naperville, Ill, for the North Central Invitational Friday and Saturday. SMU opens with Aurora and UW-Whitewater on Friday, before closing out the two-day tournament against North Park and North Central (Ill.) on Saturday. … Bethel, meanwhile, also takes part in a two-day nonconference tournament this weekend, taking part in the UW-Superior Invitational in Superior, Wis. The Royals play Lakehead and UW-Superior on Friday, then square off against Finlandia and Augsburg on Saturday.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
Wednesday's match against Bethel is the final home match of the season for the Cardinals, who close out the year at the North Central (Ill.) Tournament this weekend, before traveling to St. Thomas (Oct. 21), Hamline (Oct. 22), Carleton (Oct. 26) and Gustavus (Oct. 29). … Tonight's match is the final collegiate home match for SMU seniors Erika Hurley (Chatfield, Minn.) and Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.). … After dropping their fourth straight 3-1 conference decision on Friday against Saint Benedict, the Cardinals suffered their first 3-0 setback of the season against nationally ranked Concordia on Saturday. … SMU was a perfect 6-0 in three-set matches prior to Saturday's loss to the Cobbers. … Kara Grant (Peosta, Iowa) recorded a team-high 16 kills against Saint Benedict last Friday, while Sabrina Bushlack (Mapleton, Minn.) notched a team-best nine kills in last Saturday's match against Concordia. … Grant was held to two kills vs. the Cobbers, marking just the third time in SMU's 22 matches that the freshman outside hitter has been held under 10 kills. … Grant, who posted a career-high 26 kills in SMU's 3-2 loss to Clarke at the River City Classic on Sept. 30, has also eclipsed the 20-kill barrier five times. … Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) collected 53 assists last weekend and now leads the team with 711 assists. … Grant enters Wednesday's match vs. Bethel with a team-best 328 kills, while Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn. / 177), Bushlack (145) and Carissa Hahn (Hutchinson, Minn. / 101) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau. … SMU boasts three players — Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn. / 278), Erika Hurley (Chatfield, Minn. / 268) and Cathy Rennie (Pine Island, Minn. / 220) with 200 or more digs, while Grant (161) and Assimos (149) give the Cardinals five players with 100 or more digs. … For the fourth time in as many tournaments this season, the Cardinals went 3-1 at the River City Classic in Dubuque, Iowa on Oct. 1-2. … The Cardinals are now 25-7 in their last seven regular-season tournaments. … With their 3-2 loss to Clarke on Sept. 30, SMU has now played eight matches that have gone the maximum five sets — going 4-4 in those eight matches. … Grant and Assimos were named to the River City Classic All-Tournament team. It was the third time in four tournaments that Assimos has earned all-tournament honors, while Grant collected her second all-tournament selection. … Nine of SMU's 13 wins have come on the road. The Cardinals are 4-4 on their home court. … SMU has won the first set in 12 of its 13 victories this season. … The Cardinals set a pair of single-match records in the rally scoring era in their 3-0 victory over Finlandia on Sept. 2. SMU held the Lions to a record-low four points in their Set 3, 25-4 win, while the Cardinals' 19 service aces were also a single-match record.

Bethel Royals News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
The Royals enter Wednesday's match at Saint Mary's tied with Concordia, Saint Benedict and St. Thomas atop the MIAC standings with identical 5-1 records. … Bethel is riding a four-match winning streak. … The Royals are 7-2 in their last nine matches and 12-3 in their last 15. … Bethel heads to Winona, Minn., boasting a 9-5 record in road matches. The Royals are 6-1 on their home court. … Bethel boasts three players — Caitie Helle (229), Amy Werner (223) and Nicole Wriedt (211) — with 200 or more kills. … Haley Toter owns 100 kills, giving the Royals four players with 100 or more kills. … Kate Smith has dished out a team-best 751 assists, while Valerie Smith's 24 aces are a team high. … Kate Smith, Toter and Rachel Bloom all have 22 aces, giving Bethel four players with 20 or more aces this season. … Valerie Smith owns a team-high 415 digs this season, while Toter is second with 232. … As a team, Bethel owns 291 blocks, led by Werner with 97. … The Royals are unbeaten in four-set matches (5-0), while going 7-4 in three-setters and 3-2 in matches that go the maximum five sets. …