DUBUQUE, Iowa — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team hits the road for four matches this weekend, taking part in the Loras Invitational.
 
The Loras Invitational Field:
• Loras Duhawks (2-3 Overall), Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-1 Overall), UW-Platteville Pioneers (3-1), UW-Stout Blue Devils (5-1 Overall), St. Ambrose Fighting Bees (2-4 Overall), Wheaton (Ill.) Thunder (2-2 Overall), Wartburg Knights (4-0 Overall)
 
The Loras Invitational Schedule:
Friday, September 11, 2015 • Dubuque, Iowa
• Court 1: Loras vs. UW-Stout, 3:00, UW-Platteville vs. Saint Mary's, 5:00, Loras vs. Saint Mary's, 7:00
• Court 2: UW-Platteville vs. Wheaton (Ill.), 5:00, UW-Platteville vs. Wheaton (Ill.), 7:00
Saturday, September 12, 2015 • Dubuque, Iowa
• Court 1: Wartburg vs. UW-Stout, 9:00, Loras vs. St. Ambrose, 11:00, Wartburg vs. UW-Platteville, 1:00, Loras vs. Wheaton (Ill.), 3:00
• Court 2: UW-Platteville vs. St. Ambrose, 9:00, Wheaton (Ill.)vs. Saint Mary's,  11:00, UW-Stout vs. Saint Mary's, 1:00
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Video (Court 1 * Court 2) | Tournament Homepage | Video Preview
 
Cardinals' Last Action:
• The Cardinals are coming off a 3-1 showing at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic in Winona, Minn., last weekend. Saint Mary's knocked off UW-La Crosse, Wisconsin Lutheran, and Luther, while falling to seventh-ranked UW-Stevens Point | UW-L Recap * WLC Recap * UW-SP Recap * LC Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Loras Invitational Opponents—Their Last Meetings:
• vs. UW-Platteville—October 5, 2012: After ending Coe's nine-match winning streak in their opening match of the UW-Platteville Invitational, the Cardinals' ran into a buzz-saw in the host Pioneers, as UW-P outlasted Saint Mary's—literally—3-0 (27-25, 25-23, 26-24) | Recap
• vs. Loras—September 3, 2011: The Cardinals opened the second day of the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic in much the same way Day 1 went—with a victory. But the Cardinals' 3-0 win over Loras was anything but easy, as Saint Mary's won the first two sets 27-25 and 28-26, before closing out the match with a 25-18 victory in the third set | Recap
• vs. Wheaton (Ill.)—October 12, 2013: Thanks to wins over North Park and UW-Oshkosh during the opening day of the North Central Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament, the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to six in a row—while also pushing the Cardinals' win total to 14 straight victories in regular-season tournament play. Unfortunately, both runs came to a screeching halt early in Day 2, as Wheaton (Ill.) survived a furious come-from-behind effort from the Cardinals in handing Saint Mary's a streak-snapping 3-2 setback | Recap
• vs. UW-Stout—October 13, 2012: The Blue Devils rallied from a 2-1 deficit to hand the Cardinals their second loss of the say, beating Saint Mary's 3-2 at the UW-Stout Invitational | Recap
 
Cardinals Up Next:
• The Cardinals kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, hosting St. Catherine in a 7 p.m. match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
With their 3-1 win over UW-Eau Claire on Sept. 1, the Cardinals are now 5-0 in their last five season openers. … Saint Mary's 3-0 loss to seventh-ranked UW-Stevens Point snapped the Cardinals' three-match season-opening winning streak. … Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) earned all-tournament honors at last weekend's Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic. Fadness led the team with 52 kills and hit .356, while Krogstad delivered 48 digs, 12 assists and a pair of service aces. … Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) and Brittney Hansen (Janesville, Iowa) shared the setting detail for the Cardinals at the Sugar Loaf Classic, dishing out 84 and 67 assists, respectively. … Morgan Thomas (Palos Heights, Ill.) accounted for five of the team's 15 aces in their four tournament matches last weekend. … MacVey has recorded 20 or more assists in three of the team's first five matches—including a season-high 23 vs. UW-La Crosse on Sept. 4. … Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn.) posted a team- and season-high 22 digs in the Cardinals' 3-0 win over Wisconsin Lutheran. The 22 digs were one shy of her collegiate high 23 against the University of Chicago on Oct. 10, 2014. … The Cardinals are a perfect 2-0 in four-set matches this season, while going 2-1 in matches decided in three sets. Saint Mary's has not played a five-set match thus far this season. … Saint Mary's has won the opening set in three of their four wins, the lone exception a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over UW-La Crosse on Sept. 4.
 
Scouting The UW-Platteville Pioneers:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Pioneers opened the season with back-to-back victories over Ripon (3-2) and Gustavus (3-1) during the opening day of the UW-Platteville Tournament. UW-P went 1-1 during Day 2, falling to Westminster (Mo.) (3-2) and beating Cornell (3-1), before losing to Loras 3-1 on Wednesday. … UW-Platteville has not played a match decided in straight sets this season. … Friday's match against Saint Mary's is the second of three against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foes for the Pioneers, who have already beaten Gustavus (3-1) and still have Saint Mary's and St. Olaf on their schedule. … Kelley Lynch owns a team-leading 55 kills, while teammate Rachel Ambroch is right on her heels with 53. … Allie Carter has accounted for 139 of the team's 212 assists. … Lindsey Decker has amassed a team-best 93 digs, followed by Grace Austin  and Lynch with 64 and 62, respectively.

 
Scouting The Loras Duhawks:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
After opening the season with back-to-back wins—including a 3-2 win over St. Scholastica in the opening match of last weekend's Northwestern Labor Day Tournament—the Duhawks have gone 1-3 in their last four. … Wednesday's 3-1 win over UW-Platteville snapped the Duhawks' season-high three-match losing streak. … Friday's showdown against Saint Mary's is the second of six matches vs. teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Loras lost to Saint Benedict (3-1) last Saturday, and still has Saint Mary's, Augsburg, Hamline, Gustavus, and St. Catherine on its schedule. … Claire Ritchie is the team's kill leader with 54, one more than Therese Schultz and six in front of Danni Kennedy. … Ritchie and Jenna Erickson have shared the setting detail for the Duhawks, compiling 121 and 111 assists, respectively. … Ali Clark has accounted for 13 of the team's 33 service aces, while Haley Bergen is the team's dig leader with 114 and Kennedy owns a team-high 17 blocks. … With Wednesday's 3-1 win over UW-Platteville, Loras has now played back-to-back four-set matches, going 1-1. The Duhawks are also 1-1 in three-set matches and 1-1 in five-setters.

Scouting The Wheaton (Ill.) Thunder:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Thunder split their four matches at the Elmhurst Invitational last weekend, winning 3-1 over Hendrix and 3-2 vs. Edgewood, while falling to UW-Whitewater (3-1) and Saint Mary's (Ind.) (3-2). … Saturday's match against the Cardinals will be the second of three matches against Saint Mary's schools. The Thunder will get a second shot at Saint Mary's (Ind.) during the second day of the Wheaton Invitational on Oct. 3. … Shelby Knowles amassed a team-high 74 kills in the Thunder's four matches at the Elmhurst Invitational last weekend. … Kelly Thornton dished out 106 assists in the team's first four matches of the season, while Knowles (104) and Kelli Manning (89) lead the team in digs. … The Thunder have not played a three-set match this season, going 1-1 in four-setters and 1-1 in matches that go the maximum five sets. … Wheaton has won the first set in both of its wins this season, while dropping the opening set in its two losses.
 
Scouting The UW-Stout Blue Devils:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
After opening the season with five straight wins, the Blue Devils dropped their final match of the Pacific Coast Classic in Claremont, Calif., last Saturday, falling to the University of La Verne 3-1. … Saturday's match against Saint Mary's is the third of seven matches against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponents. The Blue Devils beat Carleton (3-2), lost to Augsburg and still have Saint Mary's, Concordia (twice), Gustavus, and Saint Benedict still on the schedule. … Ashley Pratt has amassed a team-high 79 kills, while Molly Brion (58) and Carly Troudt (58) are close behind. … Maddie Phyle and Emily Bialke have shared the setting duties for the Blue Devils, compiling 138 and 106 assists, respectively. … Payton Schultz is the team's dig leader with 104, and Pratt boasts a team-best 26 blocks. … UW-Stout is 2-0 in three-set and five-set matches, while going 1-1 in matches that have lasted four sets. … The Blue Devils have won the first set in all five of their victories this season. … The Blue Devils finished with 20 wins in 2014—the most victories since the 2004 season.