NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team is back on the court on Wednesday, as the Cardinals square off against St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Skoglund Center.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-4 MIAC | 21-7 Overall) at St. Olaf Oles (1-7-MIAC | 7-17 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Video | Video Preview

Last Action:
The Cardinals went 1-1 in their two Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matches last weekend, beating St. Catherine 3-0 last Friday in St. Paul, Minn., before falling to 15th-ranked Augsburg 3-1 a day later in Minneapolis, Minn. … Molly Nelson had a team-best eight kills, but Concordia proved to be too much for the Oles to handle, as the Cobbers dealt St. Olaf a 3-1 conference setback Saturday in Moorhead, Minn.

SMU vs. St. Olaf — A Year Ago:
October 3, 2012: Heading into its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with St. Olaf, SMU coach Mike Lester was certain of one thing — if the Cardinals were going to come away with a victory, they were going to need a repeat performance of their effort in a 3-2 win over Concordia four days earlier. There was no repeat performance — and, unfortunately for Lester and the Cardinals, no victory — as St. Olaf swept past SMU 3-0.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back on the road on Saturday, as SMU travels to St. Peter, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference match against Gustavus. … St. Olaf heads across town on Saturday, as the Oles square off against cross-town rival Carleton in a 3 p.m. conference match in the Knights' West Gymnasium.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Wednesday's match against St. Olaf is the seventh of eight straight road matches for the Cardinals, who do not return home until Nov. 2, when they close out the regular season with a conference match against defending national champion St. Thomas. … SMU's loss to Augsburg Saturday snapped the Cardinals' two-match winning streak. SMU heads into Wednesday's matchup against St. Olaf having gone 9-2 in its last 11 matches. … With their 3-0 win over St. Catherine last Friday, SMU not only improved to 12-2 in three-set matches, but the Cardinals also picked up their 21st win of the season — marking the seventh time under coach Mike Lester that SMU has reached the 20-win plateau. … The Cardinals' 21 wins are the most since going 21-10 in 2010. … SMU's 3-1 loss to nationally ranked Augsburg was just its third road loss of the season. The Cardinals are now 13-3 away from home heading into Wednesday's match at St. Olaf. … Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) picked up 81 assists last weekend — 39 against St. Catherine and 42 vs. Augsburg — pushing the senior setter over the 1,000-assist plateau for the second time in her four-year career. … Assimos, who ranks No. 3 all-time with 3,084 career assists, needs just 81 assists in SMU's final three regular-season matches to pass Brittany Cherwinka for No. 2 all-time. … Assimos' 51 assists against UW-Oshkosh on Oct. 11 were not only a season high — one more than the 50-assist effort against Central (Iowa) on Oct. 4 — but just two assists shy of her career-best 53-assist showing against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 2, 2011. … Assimos has now recorded 40 or more assists 10 times this season and 30 times in her collegiate career. … Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) led the Cardinal offense in both matches last weekend, compiling 12 kills against St. Catherine and 19 vs. Augsburg. … Peterson — who recorded a career-best 23 kills against Central (Iowa) on Oct. 4 — has notched 10 or more kills in 16 straight matches and 24 times in the Cardinals' 28 matches this season. … Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn.) equaled her career high with 17 kills against North Central on Oct. 12, while Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) notched a career-best 19-kill performance against Wheaton (Ill.) on Oct. 12. … Peterson's 23-kill effort against Central (Iowa) on Oct. 4 was the most by a Cardinal this season and the most since Kara Grant recorded 26 kills against Clarke on Sept. 30, 2011. … Peterson heads into Wednesday's conference match against St. Olaf boasting a team-leading 336 kills, while Lind (255), Nordick (202), Molly Grover (Zumbrota, Minn. / 122) , Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis. / 115), Assimos (114) and Kaylee Bunne (LeRoy, Minn. / 100) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau. … Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) heads into Wednesday's match against St. Olaf with a team-leading 484 digs. … Krogstad is one of six Cardinals with 100 or more digs — Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill. / 268), Assimos (248), Jordan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn. / 245), Brooke Schilling (Altura, Minn. / 143) and Lind (117) are the others. … Wolfe equaled her career best with a team-best 16 digs against Hamline on Oct. 9. … SMU has recoded 154 aces this season — led by Thomas with 41. … SMU's 29-27 Set 1 win against Carleton on Oct. 2 was the longest set of the season for the Cardinals. … The Cardinals have won the first set in 18 of their 21 wins and 20 times in 28 matches this season. … Twelve of SMU's 21 wins have come via 3-0 sweeps.  The Cardinals' 3-2 win over UW-Oshkosh on Oct. 11 was the first five-set victory of the season for SMU. … The Cardinals' 3-1 loss to Macalester on Sept. 24 snapped their school record-tying 11-match winning streak. … SMU has lost back-to-back matches just once all season. … SMU's 3-2 loss to Wheaton (Ill.) at the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament last Saturday snapped the Cardinals' 13-match regular-season tournament winning streak. … SMU finished with a 16-3 record in its five regular-season tournaments this season.

Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Saturday's loss at Concordia was the Oles' third straight setback, and drops them to 1-10 in their last 11 matches. … St. Olaf's 3-2 win over Luther on Oct. 5 snapped the Oles' second seven-match losing streak of the season. … Kelly Heissel and Maggie Prunty have led the Oles' offense this season, compiling 209 and 205 kills, respectively. … Molly Nelson (156) and Taylor Gorder (149) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau this season. … Along with her 205 kills, Prunty is also hitting a team-best .258. … Kersten Bork has accounted for 767 of the team's 843 assists. … St. Olaf boasts six players with 10 or more service aces, led by Bork and Megan Bauer with 19 each. … Abby Black has collected a team-leading 349 digs, with Prunty (173), Bauer (169), Heissel (163) and Bork (156) also recording 100 or more digs through 24 matches. … Twelve of St. Olaf's 17 losses this season have been 3-0 sweeps. … Five of the Oles' seven wins have come on the road. St. Olaf is 2-4 on its home court, while going 5-13 away from Skoglund Center.