ST. PAUL, Minn.  — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team returns to the court Saturday for a 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Hamline.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-7 MIAC, 15-13 Overall)
vs. Hamline Pipers (1-7 MIAC, 9-16 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals ran into a buzz-saw Friday night, as nationally ranked St. Thomas handed SMU a 3-0 setback in St. Paul, Minn. … Hamline, meanwhile, collected its first conference win of the season Wednesday, sweeping Macalester 3-0 at Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn.

Cardinals vs. Hamline — Their Last Meeting:
September 29, 2010: SMU collected a season-high 11 aces — including four from Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) and three from Cathy Rennie (Pine Island, Minn.) — as the Cardinals swept past Hamline 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 31-29) at the SMU Gym.

Up Next:
The Cardinals continue their regular season-ending four-match road trip on Wednesday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. match against Carleton. … Hamline, meanwhile, is also on the road on Wednesday, traveling across town for a 7 p.m. match at league-leading St. Thomas.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
Friday's showdown against nationally ranked St. Thomas was the fourth straight match in which the Cardinals square off against a league-leader. SMU had also squared off against Concordia, Saint Benedict and Bethel — all three were tied with St. Thomas atop the MIAC standings heading into this weekend. … Saturday's match at Hamline is the second of four straight road matches to end the regular season for the Cardinals. … Friday's loss to St. Thomas marked just the second time in eight three-set matches that the Cardinals have been swept. … Four of SMU's last six matches have gone the maximum five sets. … The Cardinals have played 12 five-set matches this season, going 5-7. … Kara Grant (Peosta, Iowa) recorded a team-high 13 kills against St. Thomas Friday, while also hitting a team-leading .270. … Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) dished out 27 assists and added nine digs against the Tommies. … Grant enters Saturday's match against Hamline with a team-best 391 kills, leading six Cardinals boasting 100 or more kills. Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) is second with 213, followed by Sabrina Bushlack (Mapleton, Minn. / 153), Carissa Hahn (Hutchinson, Minn. / 132), Molly Grover (Zumbrota, Minn. / 107) and Kaylee Bunne (LeRoy, Minn. / 100). … Assimos pushed her team-high assist total to 876 with her effort Friday vs. UST, while Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn.) is the team-leader in digs with 360. … Led by Rasmussen, the Cardinals boast three players with 200 or more digs and six with 100 of more. … The Cardinals' 2-2 showing at the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament last weekend marked the first time in five regular-season tournaments this year that the Cardinals did not go 3-1. … Assimos totaled 134 assists, hit a team-best .424 (15 kills, 33 attempts, 1 error) and picked up 51 digs last weekend, earning the sophomore setter all-tournament honors. … Assimos has now been named to the all-tournament team in four of the five regular-season tournaments the Cardinals have played in. … Eleven of SMU's 15 wins have come on the road. The Cardinals are 4-5 on their home court. … SMU has won the first set in 13 of its 15 victories this season. … SMU's 22-20 Set 5 loss to Bethel last Wednesday was the highest-scoring fifth set in the last 15 years. … 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.

Hamline Pipers News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
With their 3-0 win over Macalester on Wednesday, the Pipers snapped their three-match losing streak. … The Pipers' last six matches have all been decided by 3-0 counts — with HU going 2-4 in those six matches. … Saturday's match against Saint Mary's is the final home match of the season for the Pipers, who play at St. Thomas (Oct. 26) and at Augsburg (Oct. 28) to close out the season. … Wednesday's 3-0 sweep of Macalester earned the Pipers their first MIAC win of the season. … Sam Greeney-Hamlin enters Saturday's match vs. Saint Mary's as the team-leader in kills (235) and attack percentage (.287). … Greeney-Hamlin is one of three Pipers with 100 or more kills this season — Franki Miller (152) and Dani Schultz (144) are the other two. … Sammie Miller has accounted for 693 of the tea's 860 assists this season. … As a team, the Pipers have accumulated 145 aces, led by Stephanie Kaup with 24 and Karley Killan with 23. … Lacy Koss is the team-leader in digs with 258. Koss is one of six Pipers with 100 or more digs. … Six of Hamline's nine wins this season have come via 3-0 sweeps. The Pipers are just 1-5 in four-set matches and are 2-2 in five-setters. … HU has won just once (1-4) on its home court in Hutton Arena.