WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball begins the final week of the regular season on Wednesday, hosting Carleton in a key conference match at the SMU Gym. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-5 MIAC | 13-13 Overall)
vs. Carleton Knights (5-4 MIAC | 16-8 Overall)
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Last Action:
The Cardinals turned in one of their most dominating performances of the season on Saturday, cruising to a convincing
3-0 MIAC win over Hamline at the SMU Gym. … Carleton, meanwhile, dropped its second straight home match, losing an important conference match to Concordia,
3-0 in Northfield, Minn.
SMU vs. Carleton — Their Last Meeting:
October 26, 2011: The Cardinals opened their MIAC match against the Knights with a hard-fought, 28-26 victory, then couldn't seem to do anything right in falling 25-15 in the second set. SMU regrouped for a 26-24 win in Set 3, then completed the
3-1 conference victory with its seconds straight 26-24 win in the fourth set in Northfield, Minn.
Up Next:
The Cardinals close out the regular season on Saturday, hosting Gustavus in a key conference match at the SMU Gym. Match time is set for 3 p.m. … Carleton, meanwhile, returns home for its final match of the regular season, hosting St. Olaf in a 3 p.m. conference match in Northfield, Minn.
MIAC Tournament Picture:
With two matches remaining in the regular season, the Cardinals are still very much alive in their quest for an MIAC Tournament berth. St. Thomas (9-0) and Saint Benedict (8-1) have locked up two of the six post-season tournament bids, while Bethel (6-3) and Concordia (6-3) currently hold down the third and fourth spots, and Carleton (5-4) and St. Olaf (5-4) are sitting at fifth and sixth. SMU is currently tied for seventh with Augsburg at 4-5 — one game behind Carleton and St. Olaf. Along with Carleton, SMU also has Gustavus (3-6) on its schedule, while the Knights end the regular season against St. Olaf. Augsburg closes out with Hamline (1-8) and Concordia (6-3), and St. Olaf faces Macalester (0-9) and Carleton.
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012 Roster |
2012 Statistics |
2012 Schedule
Wednesday's match against Carleton is the third of four straight home matches to close out the regular season for the Cardinals, who are 6-5 on their home court this season. … Last Saturday's 3-0 win over Hamline was the Cardinals' sixth sweep of the season. … For the second match in as many days,
Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals against Hamline last Saturday, collecting a match-high 12 kills. … Nordick's 12-kill effort marked the fourth straight match — and 12th time this season — the sophomore middle hitter has recorded 10 or more kills. …
Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) tallied 55 assists in SMU's two matches last weekend, posting 22 assists vs. St. Thomas on Friday and adding 33 assists against Hamline on Saturday. … Assimos, who leads the team with 744 assists this season, is just six assists shy of 2,000 for her career heading into Wednesday's match against Carleton. … Assimos has recorded 40 or more assists four times this season — including a season-high 45 assists recorded against Concordia on Sept. 29. …
Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) recorded 17 digs in each of SMU's matches last weekend, pushing her team-leading dig total to 465. … Both Krogstad and
Tara Rasmussen (Kasson, Minn.) each enjoyed career performances against UW-Stout on Oct. 13, as Krogstad collected a career-best 36 digs, while Rasmussen chipped in a career-high 30. … Krogstad is one of five Cardinals with 100 or more digs. … With her 12 kills vs. Hamline last Saturday, Nordick enters Wednesday's match with Carleton owning a team-leading 236 kills, while
Carissa Hahn (Hutchinson, Minn.) is second with 184. … SMU has recorded 132 services aces this season, led by
Cathy Rennie (Pine Island, Minn.) is the team-leader with 27 aces, with Krogstad second with 24 and Assimos third with 20. … SMU's 3-2 losses to St. Catherine and UW-Stout at the UW-Stout Invitational were its first five-set setbacks of the season — the Cardinals are now 2-2 in matches that have gone the distance. … SMU has won the first set in 12 of its 13 wins. The Cardinals' 3-1 win over the University of Dubuque at the UW-Platteville Invitational on Oct. 6 marks the only time this season the Cardinals have won a match when not winning the opening set. … The Cardinals' 2-0 start to the conference season marked the first time since 2008 that they opened MIAC play with back-to-back wins.
Scouting The Carleton Knights:
2012 Roster |
2012 Statistics |
2012 Schedule
Saturday's loss to Concordia was the Knights' second straight — and third in its last four matches. … Carleton's last three losses — all at home — have been 3-0 sweeps. CC had been swept just twice in its first 20 matches. … Sarah Nielsen posted a team-leading 16 kills against Concordia Saturday and enters Wednesday's match against Saint Mary's with a team-best 265 kills — 12 kills better than teammate Jessa Youso. … Nielsen and Youso are two of four Carleton players with 100 or more kills — Karen Halls and Claire Willeck are the other two with 135 kills each. … Alicia Flatt owns 828 of the team's 936 assists this season. … Carleton has posted 146 service aces this season, led by Camille Benson with 43 and Flatt with 20. … The Knights boast five players with 200 or more digs, led by Benson's 418. Flatt is second with 261, followed by Ashley Shin (214), Chloe Nelson (211) and Lisa Groesbeck (207). … Fourteen of Carleton's 16 wins have come on the road — CC is just 2-4 on its home court, while boasting a 14-4 mark away from home.
