WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, hosting St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. match at the SMU Gym.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-2 MIAC, 10-5 Overall)
vs. St. Olaf Oles (1-2 MIAC, 7-7 Overall)

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

Last Action:
The Cardinals are coming off a 3-1 showing at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational in Ripon, Wis. SMU beat Lakeland (3-2) and fell to Coe (3-2) last Friday, before dropping Marian (3-1) and UW-Marathon County (3-0) on Saturday. … St. Olaf, meanwhile, picked up a 3-0 conference sweep over Hamline Saturday in St. Paul, Minn.

Cardinals vs. St. Olaf — Their Last Meeting:
October 13, 2010: Jessica Mate led a trio of Cardinals in double figures in kills with 15 and Brittany Cherwinka dished out 36 assists, but it was not enough, as 15th-ranked St. Olaf handed SMU a 3-1 conference setback at the SMU Gym.

Up Next:
The Cardinals head to Dubuque, Iowa, this weekend, taking on the University of Dubuque, Clarke, UW-Superior and Coe as part of the University of Dubuque Tournament. … St. Olaf, meanwhile, will be in Waverly, Iowa, this weekend, facing Cornell, UW-La Crosse, Simpson and UW-Eau Claire as part of the Wartburg Tournament.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
For the third time in as many tournaments this season, the Cardinals finished 3-1 at last weekend's Ripon Red Hawk Invitational, with the lone loss a 3-2 decision against Coe. … SMU is now 22-6 in its last six regular-season tournaments combined. … Last Friday's 3-2 win over Lakeland snapped the Cardinals' first two-match losing streak of the season. … SMU's 3-0 win over UW-Marathon County was its fifth 3-0 sweep of the season. The Cardinals are a perfect 5-0 in 3-0 matches. … With their two 3-2 contests Friday, SMU has now played seven matches that have gone the maximum five sets — going 4-3 in those seven matches. … Kara Grant (Peosta, Iowa) recorded her first three 20+ kill performances at the Red Hawk Invitational last weekend, recording 21 kills vs. Marian, 23 against Lakeland and a career-best 24 vs. Coe. … All told, Grant compiled 73 kills (4.56 kps), hit .232, served up four aces and added a in SMU's four tournament matches last weekend in earning All-Tournament honors. … Grant has now recorded 10 or more kills in 13 of the team's 15 matches this season. … Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) joined Grant on the All-Tournament team, after dishing out 148 assists and adding 21 digs and three aces. … Assimos recorded 51 assists against both Coe and Marian, marking the third and fourth times this season the Cardinal sophomore has notched 50 of more assists. … Assimos' performance also earned the sophomore setter MIAC Setter of the Week honors, it was announced Monday. … Sabrina Bushlack (Mapleton, Minn.) recorded a career-best 18 kills in the Cardinals' 3-1 win over Marian Saturday. … With her 73 kills over the weekend, Grant now leads the team with 209 kills through 15 matches, while Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) is second with 109. … Nordick picked up a team-best 25 blocks in four Red Hawk Invitational matches, pushing her team-leading total to 66. … Assimos boasts a team-best 447 assists, while Erika Hurley (Chatfield, Minn.) is the team-leader in digs with 197. … Hurley is one of three SMU players with 100 or more digs. Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn. / 171) and Cathy Rennie (Pine Island, Minn. / 138) are the other two. … With their 22 aces last weekend, the Cardinals have now served up 115 aces this season. … Assimos has now been named to the All-Tournament team in two of the Cardinals' three tournaments. She was also an all-tourney selection at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic. Grant, Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis. / Sugar Loaf Classic) and Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn. / Endicott Tournament) have also been named to the all-tournament teams 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. Olaf Oles News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
After opening the season with wins in four of their first five matches, the Oles have gone 3-6 in their last nine. … Six of St. Olaf's seven wins have been 3-0 sweeps. … Last Wednesday's 3-2 loss to Gustavus was the Oles' first five-set match of the season. … Ariel Carlson, who collected a team-high 10 kills in last Saturday's 3-0 win over Hamline, boasts a team-leading 149 kills (3.10 kps). Kate Wolfram and Melissa Burch also enter Wednesday's match at Saint Mary's with 100 or more kills. Wolfram has 134, while Burch has 102. … Justine Dammermann has accounted for 459 of the team's 509 assists, while Kristin Boyum is the team-leader in digs with 201. … St. Olaf boasts three players — Boyum (15), Wolfram (15) and Carleton (10) with 10 or more aces. … Four of St. Olaf's seven wins have come on the road, where the Oles are 4-5. … St. Olaf has won the opening set in all 14 of its matches this season.