WINONA, Minn.  — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team returns to action — and conference play — on Friday, as the Cardinals host Saint Benedict in a 7 p.m. MIAC contest at the SMU Gym.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-3 MIAC | 13-7 Overall)
vs. Saint Benedict Blazers (3-1 MIAC | 11-6 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats/Video | Video Preview | Senior Salute | GameDay Program

Cardinals Last Action:
The Cardinals posted a 3-1 record at the University of Dubuque River City Classic last weekend in Dubuque, Iowa, beating University of Dubuque (3-0), UW-Superior (3-0) and Coe (3-1), while falling to Clarke (3-2). … Saint Benedict, meanwhile, has been off since last Friday, when the Blazers cruised to a 3-0 nonconference win over Luther in Decorah, Iowa.

Cardinals vs. Saint Benedict — A Year Ago:
October 8, 2010: The Cardinals put together one of their most dominating performances of the season, cruising to a 3-1 (25-18, 25-16, 14-25, 25-23) conference win over the Blazers in a battle between two of the conference's second-place team.
November 2, 2010: The Blazers kept the Cardinals out of system — and off-balance — for most of the match, as Saint Benedict knocked SMU out of the MIAC Tournament with a 3-1 (25-17, 25-16, 12-25, 25-15) victory at the SMU Gym.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back in conference play on Saturday, hosting nationally ranked Concordia in a 3 p.m. match at the SMU Gym. … Saint Benedict, meanwhile, is also on the court Saturday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 3 p.m. MIAC match against St. Olaf.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
For the fourth time in as many tournaments this season, the Cardinals went 3-1 at last weekend's River City Classic in Dubuque, Iowa. … The Cardinals are now 25-7 in their last seven regular-season tournaments. … SMU's 3-1 win over Coe last Saturday was just the second loss of the season for the Kohawks and avenged the Cardinals' 3-2 setback vs. Coe on Sept. 23. … After going their first nine contests without a match being decided in four sets, the Cardinals have played five six setters in their last 11 matches. … All three of SMU's MIAC losses this season have been decided in four sets. … SMU's 3-0 win over UW-Superior last Saturday was its sixth 3-0 sweep of the season. The Cardinals are a perfect 5-0 in 3-0 matches. … With their 3-2 loss to Clarke last Friday, SMU has now played eight matches that have gone the maximum five sets — going 4-4 in those eight matches. … Kara Grant (Peosta, Iowa) and Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) 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. … Grant finished the four-match River City Classic with 83 kills ¬— including a career-high 26 kills in SMU's 3-2 loss to Clarke last Friday. … Grant, who also added four aces, 47 digs and four blocks last weekend, has now recorded 10 or more kills in 18 of the team's 20 matches and has eclipsed the 20-kill barrier five times. … Assimos accounted for 174 of the team's 192 assists at the River City Classic, while also recording 18 kills, one ace, 33 digs and four blocks. … With her 83 kills at the River City Classic, Grant now leads the team with 310 kills, while Mary Nordic (Plymouth, Minn. / 164), Sabrina Bushlack (Mapleton, Minn. / 126) and Carissa Hahn (Hutchinson, Minn. / 101) have also surpassed the 100-kill plateau. … Assimos enters Friday's match against Saint Benedict with a team-high 658 assists, while Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn.) is the team-leader in digs (264) and Cathy Rennie (Pine Island, Minn.) boasts a team-best 27 aces. … SMU boasts three players — Rasmussen, Erika Hurley (Chatfield, Minn. / 253) and Rennie (201) — with 200 or more digs. … Nordick posted 19 blocks in four tournament matches last weekend and owns a team-best 88 blocks through 20 matches. … 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.

Saint Benedict Blazers News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
With their 3-0 win over Luther last Friday, the Blazers have now won back-to-back matches and have been victorious in seven of its last eight contests. … Both of CSB's wins in its latest two-match winning streak have been 3-0 sweeps. … The Blazers have won the first set in 10 of their 11 wins this season. … CSB is a near-perfect 4-1 on its home court this season. … Chelsie Sobieck is the team's leader in kills with 198. … Sobieck is one of four Blazers to record 100 or more kills this season. Alexa Rinde (181), Lexi Alm (172) and Taya Kockelman (101) are the other three. … Kockelman and Kathryn Gaydos have shared the setting duties for the Blazers, with Kockelman notching 449 assists, while Gaydos has dished out 253. … The Blazers have recorded 94 aces this season, led by Kockelman with 18 and Victoria Nass with 17. … Chelsea Rachel owns a team-best 357 digs, while Nass (154), Kockelman (146), Sobieck (125) and Alm (120) have also posted more than 100 digs this season. … CSB is 4-2 in three-set matches, 5-3 in matches that go four sets, and 2-1 in five-setters.