ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team hits the road on Friday, traveling to Saint Benedict for a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against the Blazers.




The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-1 MIAC | 7-5 Overall)
at Saint Benedict Blazers (2-1 MIAC | 13-4 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
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Last Action:
The Cardinals suffered their first conference loss of the season last Saturday, as Augsburg handed SMU a 3-1 setback at the SMU Gym. … Saint Benedict, meanwhile, stepped out of conference play on Tuesday, cruising to a 3-0 nonconference win over UW-Superior in St. Joseph, Minn.

SMU vs. Saint Benedict — Their Last Meeting:
October 7, 2011: For the fourth time in as many MIAC losses, the Cardinals suffered a 3-1 setback vs. the Blazers at the SMU Gym. The two teams split the first two sets — CSB winning the opener 25-17, with SMU responding with a 25-22 Set 2 win. From there, however, it was all Saint Benedict, as the Blazers won 25-22 and 25-18 to seal the win.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back in action on Saturday, traveling to Moorhead, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference showdown against Concordia. … Saint Benedict is also back in action Saturday, as the Blazers host St. Olaf in a 3 p.m. match in St. Joseph, Minn.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Friday's match at Saint Benedict kicks off a stretch of 12 straight road matches — including tournaments at UW-Stout and UW-Platteville — for the Cardinals, who do not return home until Oct. 19, when they host nationally ranked St. Thomas in a 7 p.m. match at the SMU Gym. … Last Saturday's 3-1 loss to Augsburg snapped the Cardinals' season-high four-match winning streak. … SMU's loss vs. the Auggies was also just the second loss on its home court for SMU, which is 4-2 at the SMU Gym. … Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) finished with a team-best 12 kills against Augsburg last Saturday. It was the third straight match the sophomore middle hitter has led the team in kills. … Nordick has now had 10 or more kills in three straight matches and six times this season. … Nordick recorded a season- and career-high 51 attack attempts against St. Catherine on Sept. 19. … Nordick enters Friday's match vs. Saint Benedict boasting a team-high 107 kills, while Carissa Hahn (Hutchinson, Minn.) is second with 75. … Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) — who collected a season-high 42 assists vs. St. Catherine on Sept. 19 and added 36 more vs. Augsburg last Saturday  has amassed 375 assists for the season and 1,625 for her career. … Assimos equaled her career high with eight kills vs. St. Catherine on Sept. 19. … The Cardinals boasted four players with 10 or more digs vs. Augsburg last Saturday, led by Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.), picked up 16 digs and now owns a team-best 207 digs this season. Cathy Rennie (Pine Island, Minn.) added 12 digs vs. the Auggies, while Megan Schulz (Andover, Minn.) and Megan Leisen (Kellogg, Minn.) each chipped in 11. … SMU has recorded 61 services aces this season, led by Rennie with 15 and Krogstad with 12. … Four of the Cardinals' seven wins have been 3-0 sweeps. … SMU's 3-2 win over St. Catherine on Sept. 19 was the Cardinals' first match that went the maximum five sets. SMU was 5-7 in five-setters in 2011. … SMU has won the first set in all seven of its victories this season. … 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 Saint Benedict Blazers:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Last Saturday's 3-0 loss to St. Thomas snapped the Blazers' five-match winning streak. It was also the first loss in three MIAC matches for CSB. … Friday's match vs. Saint Mary's is the second of three straight home matches for the Blazers, who are 3-1 on their home court this season. … Lexi Alm enters Friday's match against Saint Mary's boasting a team-leading 208 kills (3.53 kps), while Sophie Stangl — who recorded a team-best nine kills vs. UW-Superior Tuesday — is second with 170 kills. … Taya Kockelman owns 617 of the team's 734 assists, while Alm is the team-leader with 17 aces. … The Blazers, led by Alm, have collected 82 aces in 17 matches this season. Along with Alm's 17, CSB has four other players — Chelsea Rachel (15), Victoria Nass (15), Taya Kockelman (12) and Kelly Davenport (12) — with 10 or more aces. … Nass has amassed a team-high 370 digs, with Alm (273) and Rachel (231) also eclipsing the 200-dig mark through 17 matches. … Tuesday's win over UW-Superior was the sixth 3-0 sweep for the Blazers. … CSB has won the first set in all 13 of its wins this season.