WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team returns to the court on Wednesday, as the Cardinals host Carleton in a key Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match at the SMU Gym.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-3 MIAC | 12-5 overall) vs. Carleton Knights (0-4 MIAC | 9-7 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped a pair of conference matches last weekend at the SMU Gym, falling to 12th-ranked Saint Benedict 3-0 on Friday, before dropping a marathon, five-set 3-2 decision to Concordia on Saturday. … Carleton, meanwhile, has been off since Friday, when the Knights also fell to Concordia, losing to the Cobbers 3-0 in Northfield, Minn.

SMU vs. Carleton — Their Last Meeting:
October 24, 2012: For the first two sets of its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Carleton, SMU could do no wrong. Over the final three sets, however, it was the Knights who had the Midas Touch. Carleton rallied from two sets down to win three straight in handing the Cardinals a 3-2 setback at the SMU Gym.

Up Next:
SMU returns to its home court this weekend, hosting the inaugural, seven-team Cardinal Invitational. The Cardinals square off against Central (Iowa) on Friday, before taking on Augustana and the University of Dubuque on Saturday. … Carleton is back on the road this Friday, as the Knights travel to St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference match against Macalester.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Wednesday's match against Carleton is the third of seven straight home matches for the Cardinals — who close out their 2013 schedule playing eight of their final nine matches on the road. … Saturday's 3-2 loss to Concordia marked the first time in 17 matches the Cardinals have been stretched to a fifth set. … Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn.) followed up a team- and match-high 11-kill effort against Saint Benedict last Friday with a 17-kill performance against Concordia on Saturday. … Lind's 17 kills vs. the Cobbers was not only a career high, but also equaled the Cardinals' top individual performance of the season, joining Mary Nordic (Plymouth, Minn.) and Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.). Nordick notched her 17-kill performance against Macalester on Sept. 24, with Fadness earning 17 kills against Concordia (Wis.) on Sept. 20. … Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) is the Cardinals' kill leader through 17 matches with 180, while Lind (143) and Nordick (105) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau. … Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) — who dished out a season-best 47 assists against Macalester on Sept. 25 — followed up a 22-assist night against Saint Benedict with 44 helpers vs. Concordia last Saturay. … The 47 assists vs. Macalester were Assimos' most since notching 49 helpers in a five-set match against Bethel on Oct. 12, 2011. … Assimos has now recorded 40 or more assists in a match five times this season and 25 times in her four-year collegiate career. … Assimos heads into Wednesday's showdown with Carleton with 578 assists this season and is sitting in fifth place all-time with 2,644 assists — just 101 back of No. 4 Melissa Cowan. … Lex Krogstad has amassed a team-best 307 digs this season. She has recorded 10 or more digs in each of the Cardinals' last nine matches and 15 times in SMU's 17 contests. … Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) leads the team with 28 aces — two more than Assimos — and is second to Krogstad in digs with 158. … The Cardinals' 3-1 loss to Macalester on Sept. 24 snapped their school record-tying 11-match winning streak. … The Cardinals have won the opening set in 11 of their 12 wins this season — and 24 times in their last 26 victories. … Four of SMU's five losses have come at home — the Cardinals are 7-0 in neutral-site matches and 2-1 on the road. … For the third time in as many tournaments, Assimos was named to the all-tournament team at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational. Assimos was also named to the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic and North Park Viking Clash all-tournament teams this season. … Krogstad earned her second all-tournament honor of the season, joining Assimos on the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational all-tournament team. … With their 3-0 win over Lakeland on Aug. 30, the Cardinals won their season-opener for the third straight season.

Scouting The Carleton Knights:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Wednesday's match against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back road contests for the Knights, who are 7-5 away from home this season. … Friday's loss to Concordia pushed the Knights' losing streak to a season-high four straight. … Carleton has yet to win a set during its current four-match losing streak — falling 3-0 to Gustavus, Augsburg, Saint Benedict and Concordia. … With her team-high eight kills against Concordia last Friday, Karen Halls pushed her team-leading total to 123. Halls is the only Knight player with more than 100 kills through the first 16 matches of the season. … Along with her 123 kills, Halls also leads the team in attack percentage (.307) and blocks (38), and is third in aces with 13. … Caroline Duke and Alicia Flatt have shared the setting duties for the Knights this season, with Duke amassing a team-high 244 assists, while Flatt is close behind with 217. … Duke also owns a team-best 21 aces, one more than Camille Benson, who is the team-leader in digs with 180. … Five of the Knights' nine wins have been 3-0 sweeps, while five of their seven losses have also been decided in the minimum three sets. … Carleton has played one five-set match this season, beating UW-Superior 3-2 on Sept. 7.