ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team, off since a 3-1 nonconference win over UW-La Crosse last Wednesday, kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on the road Wednesday, traveling to Bethel for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Royals.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC | 7-2 overall) at Bethel Royals (0-0 MIAC | 7-5 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals have been off since last Wednesday, when SMU outlasted UW-La Crosse 3-1 (25-17, 25-17, 21-25, 27-25) in a nonconference match at the SMU Gym. … Bethel went 2-2 last weekend at the UW-Whitewater Invitational, beating Wisconsin Lutheran (3-1) and Millikin (3-1), while falling to Northwestern (3-0) and host UW-Whitewater (3-0).

SMU vs. Bethel — Their Last Meeting:
October 10, 2012: SMU has made a habit of getting off to fast starts. In fact, in 10 of the Cardinals' 11 wins, SMU has opened the match with a victory in the first set. Unfortunately for coach Mike Lester, there was no fast start against Bethel — and, as a result, no win, either. Bethel raced out to a 25-16 win in the first set and never looked back, beating SMU 25-23 in Set 2 and 25-15 in the third set en route to the 3-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory in Arden Hills, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals head to Ripon, Wis., this weekend to take part in the Ripon Invitational. SMU will play Lakeland and Concordia (Wis.) during Friday's opening day of the two-day tournament, before squaring off against St. Norbert and host Ripon on Saturday.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Fueled by their 3-1 win over UW-La Crosse last Wednesday, the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to a season-best six straight. It's their longest winning streak since winning seven in a row during the 2010 season. … Wednesday's match at Bethel will be the first "official" road match of the season for the Cardinals, who are 3-2 at home and 4-0 in neutral-site games. … Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) recorded a team-best 14 kills against UW-La Crosse last Wednesday. The effort equaled the sophomore's collegiate best and was one short of SMU's season-high 15-kill effort posted by Macki Fadness against St. Scholastica on Aug. 31. … Peterson was one of four SMU players with 10 or more kills against the Eagles last Wednesday. Kenzie Lind (Rushford, Minn.) added 11, while Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) and Fadness each chipped in 10. … Peterson heads into Wednesday's match against Bethel with a team-leading 99 kills, while Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) and Nordick lead the team in attack percentage at .408 and .304, respectively. … Assimos dished out 39 assists vs. the Eagles last Wednesday, marking the sixth time in SMU's nine matches the senior setter has collected 30 or more assists. … Assimos has recorded 40 or more assists twice this season and 22 times in her four-year collegiate career. … Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) finished with 17 digs against UW-L, pushing her team-leading total to 147. … Krogstad boasts SMU's top five single-match dig performances, including a season-best 22 against St. Scholastica on Aug. 31. … SMU racked up eight service aces against UW-La Crosse, including three by Kaylee Bunne (LeRoy, Minn.) and two by Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.). … With their 3-0 win over Lakeland on Aug. 30, the Cardinals won their season-opener for the third straight season. … SMU won the first set against UW-La Crosse last Wednesday and has now been victorious in Set 1 in 19 of its last 21 wins. … Four of SMU's seven wins this season have been by 3-0 sweeps — the Cardinals have yet to play a match that's gone five sets. … Assimos has been named to the all-tournament team in both tournaments the Cardinals have played in this season — including a tournament MVP performance at the North Park Viking Clash. Krogstad and Peterson also earned all-tournament honors at the North Park Viking Clash.

Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Wednesday's match against Saint Mary's will be the first non-tournament match of the season for the Royals, who opened the season with back-to-back-to-back tournaments — going 2-2 at the Saint Benedict Tournament, 3-1 at the Bethel Invitational and 2-2 at the UW-Whitewater Invitational. … Both of the Royals' wins last weekend at the UW-Whitewater Invitational were by identical 3-1 scores, while both losses were 3-0 setbacks. … Carlee Hoppe enters Wednesday's conference-opener against Saint Mary's boasting a team-best 160 kills (4.10 kps), while also hitting .293. … Nicole Ackatz has also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau this season, having racked up 120 in 12 matches. … Ashlyn Hucky is the team's assist leader with 251, while Hoppe's 21 aces and Kali Johnson's 156 digs are also team highs. … All five of Bethel's losses this season have been 3-0 sweeps, while four of the Royals' seven wins have been decided in three sets, with the other three going four sets. … Wednesday's match against Saint Mary's may be the MIAC-opener for the Royals, but Bethel has already faced two conference opponents — having beaten St. Olaf (3-0) and Concordia (3-1) at the Bethel Invitational on Sept. 6-7.