ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team is back on the road on Wednesday, as the Cardinals travel to St. Catherine for a 7 p.m. conference showdown with the Wildcats.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1 MIAC | 7-3 Overall)
at St. Catherine Wildcats (0-1 MIAC | 11-2 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals saw their MIAC record dip to 1-1 on Saturday, has Augsburg held off late rally to beat SMU 3-1 in Minneapolis, Minn. … St. Catherine, meanwhile, is coming off a 3-0 showing at the Aurora (Ill.) Tournament, as the Wildcats beat Roosevelt (3-0), North Park (3-0) and Aurora (3-1) in Aurora, Ill.

Cardinals vs. the Wildcats — Their Last Meeting:
October 27, 2010: Jessica Mate delivered 21 kills and Sarah Gardner added 20, but it was not enough, as St. Catherine outlasted the Cardinals 3-2 in a conference match in St. Paul, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals remain on the road this weekend, traveling to Ripon, Wis., for the two-day Ripon Tournament. SMU will face Lakeland and Coe on Friday and UW-Marathon County and Marian on Saturday. … St. Catherine, meanwhile, heads to Moorhead, Minn., on Saturday for a 3 p.m. matchup against Concordia.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
Saturday's 3-1 loss to Augsburg marked the first time this season the Cardinals have played a four-set match. … The Cardinals have not lost back-to-back matches all season. In fact, after each loss, SMU has rebounded with a 3-0 victory — including last Wednesday's 3-0 win over Macalester that came on the heels of a 3-2 loss to Bowdoin at last weekend's Endicott (Mass.) Tournament. … Two of SMU's three losses this season have gone the maximum five sets. … SMU is 4-0 in three-set matches. … The Cardinals are 4-1 on their home floor. … Kara Grant (Peosta, Iowa) led the team in kills for the second straight match Saturday, collecting 11 kills vs. the Auggies. … Grant has now notched 10 or more kills in nine of the team's 10 matches. … Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) dished out 39 assists vs. the Auggies Saturday and has now posted 30 or more assists six times this season. … Assimos posted a career-best eight-kill performance vs. Macalester last Wednesday. … Cathy Rennie (Pine Island, Minn.) notched a team-high 13 digs vs. Augsburg Saturday. The effort was six digs shy of her season high. … Erika Hurley (Chatfield, Minn.) leads the team with 156 digs and has recorded 10 or more digs in eight of SMU's 10 matches. … Rennie has also accumulated more than 100 digs, sitting at 101 through 10 matches. … Grant owns the team lead in kills with 122 (3.13 kps), while Assimos is the team leader in assists (265). … As a team, SMU recorded six service aces vs. Augsburg and has now collected 87 aces this season. … The Cardinals have gone 3-1 in each of their two tournaments this season and are now 19-5 in its last six regular-season tournaments combined. … Assimos (Sugar Loaf Classic), Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis. / Sugar Loaf Classic) and Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn. / Endicott Tournament) have been named to the all-tournament teams in SMU's first two tournaments 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.

St. Catherine Wildcats News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
With their three victories at the Aurora Tournament, the Wildcats have now won nine of their last 10 matches. … St. Catherine had its season-high six-match winning streak snapped with a 3-0 loss to Carleton in its MIAC opener last Wednesday. … Both of SCU's losses have been by 3-0 scores. … The Wildcats have not played a five-set match this eason, going 7-2 in three-setters and 4-0 in matches going four sets. … Wednesday's match vs. Saint Mary's is the fifth home match of the season for the Wildcats, who are a perfect 4-0 on their home court. … Brittini Wangerin leads the team with 134 kills, while Kayla Sis (109) has also recorded more than 100 kills. … Wangerin is averaging 3.44 kills-per-set, with Sis owning a team-best .356 attach percentage. … Jordyn Wentland and Ashley Kahlow have shared the setting duties for the Wildcats through 13 matches, with Wentland recording 222 assists and Kahlow adding 203. … Callie Teigen owns the team lead in digs with 148.