ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team is right back on the court—and on the road—on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Macalester for a 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown against the Scots.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-2 MIAC | 17-8 Overall) at Macalester Scots (1-7 MIAC | 14-12 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals dropped a heartbreaking first-set and never recovered in falling to Bethel 3-0 in a conference showdown Friday evening in Arden Hills, Minn. | Recap
• Macalester: The Scots fell into a 2-0 hole and could not recover, falling to St. Catherine 3-1 Wednesday night in a conference match at Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—A Year Ago:
• September 27, 2014 * Winona, Minn.: After a bit of a slow start, the Cardinals found their groove and Macalester never had a chance, as Saint Mary's rolled to its second straight convincing 3-0 victory in as many matches at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals play their third straight road match on Wednesday, heading to Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference matchup against Carleton.
• Macalester: The Scots are on the road on Wednesday, traveling to Arden Hills, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC showdown with Bethel.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
• Saturday's match against Macalester is the second of four straight road contests to end the regular season for the Cardinals. … With Friday's 3-0 loss to Bethel, the Cardinals dropped into a three-way tie for second place in the conference standings with Bethel and Saint Benedict, with all three teams sitting at 6-2—two games back of league-leading Gustavus (8-0). … With their 3-1 victory over Augsburg on Oct. 14, the Cardinals improved to 7-2 on their home court this season. … The Cardinals snapped a season-high four-match losing streak with their victory over Augsburg on Oct. 14. … The four-match slide was their longest since dropping four in a row early in the 2014 season. … The Cardinals' 3-2 loss to Saint Benedict on Oct. 2 snapped their season-high seven-match winning streak. … Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) finished with a team- and match-high 12 kills in the Cardinals' loss to Bethel Friday evening. … Fadness, who leads the team with 288 kills, has recorded 10 or more kills in 19 of the team's 25 matches. … Fadness, who has notched a season- and career-high 18 kills three times this season, is one of six Cardinals who have eclipsed the 100-kill plateau this season—Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn. / 207), Cassidy Bittle (Winona, Minn. / 185), Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn. / 175), Urban (156), and Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn. / 111) are the others. … Lind banged out a career-high 15 kills to pace the Cardinals against Saint Benedict on Oct. 2. … Urban's 14-kill effort vs. the Saint Benedict on Oct. 2 was a career high. … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) finished with a team-best 10 assists vs. Bethel Friday, two helpers more than Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.), while Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.) chipped in seven. … Hanson and MacVey recorded 24 and 22 assists, respectively, against Augsburg on Oct. 14. It was the 14^th time this season Hanson has eclipsed the 20-assist mark in a match, while MacVey has accomplished that feat 11 times. … Hanson notched her first double-double of the season with 29 assists and 10 digs against St. Olaf on Oct. 7. …  MacVey posted season-highs of 29 assists and 17 digs vs. Saint Benedict on Oct. 2 for her team-leading fifth double-double of the season—one more than Sullivan. … Hanson, who posted a season-high 31 assists vs. Saint Benedict on Oct. 2, heads into Saturday's showdown with Macalester owning a team-best 460 assists, with MacVey close behind at 394. … Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) posted a season-high 19 digs against Augsburg on Oct. 14. Thomas' 19 digs were one shy of her career-best 20-dig effort against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 10, 2014. … Sullivan has recorded 10 or more digs in 17 of the team's 24 matches. … Hess dished out a career-best 19 assists vs. Coe on Oct. 9. … Hess posted 17 assists and a career-best 12 digs en route to her first collegiate double-double against St. Thomas on Sept. 26. … Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.)—who had 17 digs vs. Bethel Friday—posted her first double-double of the season vs. Hamline on Sept. 23, notching 16 digs and 11 assists. … Krogstad, who equaled her career-high with 36 digs against St. Norbert on Sept. 18, has collected 439 digs through 25 matches and is second all-time with 2,042 career digs. Krogstad is just the second player ever to reach the 2,000-dig plateau and just 150 digs shy of school record-holder Theresa Perrini. … Saint Mary's win over Augsburg on Oct. 14 was its eighth four-set win of the season—the Cardinals are 7-4 in three-set matches, 8-3 in four-setters and 2-1 in matches that have gone the maximum five sets. … With their 3-1 win over St. Thomas on Sept. 26, Saint Mary's snapped a 14-match losing streak against the Tommies, dating back to a 3-1 triumph on Oct. 2, 2002—also on the Tommies' home court. … The Cardinals finished a combined 10-6 in their four tournament matches this season. … The Cardinals put together their best 19-match start to the season in program history this season, going 16-3. … With their 3-1 win over UW-Eau Claire on Sept. 1, the Cardinals are now 5-0 in their last five season openers.
 
Scouting The Macalester Scots:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
• Saturday's match against Saint Mary's is the second consecutive home match for the Scots, who are 5-3 on their home court this season. … Wednesday's loss to St. Catherine was Macalester's second straight setback—with both losses come by 3-1 scores. … After opening the season 13-3, Macalester has dropped nine of its last 10 matches. … The Scots snapped a season-high seven-match losing streak with a 3-0 win over Crown on Oct. 17. … Ciara Baumann enters Saturday's match against Saint Mary's as the team-leader in kills with 253. She is one of three Scots who have amassed 200 or more kills this season—Brooke Hunter (228) and India Medaris (205) are the other two. … Arianna Hesterberg has accounted for 647 of the team's 959 assists, with Kasey McMaster chipping in 157 helpers. … Macalester has served up 163 aces through 26 matches, led by Hesterberg with 57 and Baumann with 20. … Macalester boasts six players with 100 or more digs, led by Cora Trout with 506. Baumann is second to Trout with 246. … Regan Fruh has recorded a team-best 58 blocks, including 16 solos. … Ten of Macalester's 14 wins have been 3-0 sweeps. … The Scots have played just two five-set matches this season, winning both—Macalester beat Lawrence 3-2 on Sept. 13 and St. Olaf 3-2 on Sept. 26.