WINONA, Minn. — After six straight road matches, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team finally returns home on Friday, hosting Saint Benedict in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-0 MIAC | 14-2 Overall) vs. Saint Benedict Blazers (3-0 MIAC | 10-4 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals got a career-high 17 assists and 12 digs from Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn. en route to a 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over St. Thomas last Saturday at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
• Saint Benedict: The Blazers have been off since last Friday, when SCB outlasted Bethel, beating the Royals 15-10 in the fifth and decisive set for a 3-2 conference win at Claire Lynch Hall in St. Joseph, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict—Their Last Meeting:
• October 3, 2014 * St. Joseph, Minn.: The Cardinals took to the court at Claire Lynch Hall having recorded eight of its 11 wins in three sets—including back-to-back wins against Bethel and Macalester last week, neither of which lasted more than 60 minutes. The Blazers, meanwhile, lined up opposite Saint Mary's boasting nine three-set wins among their 11 victories. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, this time around, it was Saint Benedict doing the sweeping, dropping the Cardinals 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 27-25) | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back on their home court at the Saint Mary's Gym on Saturday, entertaining Concordia in a 3 p.m. conference match.
• Saint Benedict: The Blazers head to Northfield, Minn., on Saturday, squaring off against host St. Olaf in a 3 p.m. conference match.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
•  With their 3-1 win over St. Thomas last weekend, the Cardinals extended their winning streak to a season-high seven straight. … At 14-2, the Cardinals are off to their four 16-match start in program history. … Saint Mary's snapped a 14-match losing streak against the Tommies with last Saturday's 3-1 victory, dating back to a 3-1 triumph on Oct. 2, 2002—also on the Tommies' home court. … The Cardinals have dropped just three sets during their current seven-match winning streak—sweeping St. Catherine (twice), UW-River Falls, and Ripon, while beating St. Norbert, Hamline, and St. Thomas by 3-1 counts. … Along with their current six-match win streak, Saint Mary's has also put together a pair of three-match runs this season. … Last Wednesday's win vs. UST marked the third time this season the Cardinals have won after dropping the first set. Saint Mary's also beat UW-La Crosse and Wheaton (Ill.)—both by 3-1 counts—after losing the first set. … Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.) recorded a career-high 13 kills vs. St. Thomas last Saturday, while Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.) posted career-bests in assists (17) and digs (12) en route to her first collegiate double-double. … Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) equaled her season- and career-high with 18 kills against Hamline last Wednesday. It was the third time Fadness has recorded 18 kills. … Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) has also recorded an 18-kill match this season. … Jenna Sullivan (Woodbury, Minn.) notched her team-leading fourth double-double against St. Thomas last Saturday with 15 kills and 16 digs. … Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) posted her first double-double of the season vs. 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 282 digs through 16 matches and is second all-time with 1,895 career digs—297 digs shy of school record-holding Theresa Perrini. … Fadness heads into Friday's matchup against Saint Benedict leading the team with 198 kills. … Fadness is one of four Cardinals with 100 or more kills through 16 matches this season—Cassidy Bittle (Winona, Minn. / 133), Sullivan (127), and Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn. / 119) are the others. … Saint Mary's had a season-high three players with 10 or more assists against Hamline on Sept. 23—Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) dished out a team-high 21 helpers, following by Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) with 20 and Krogstad with 10. … Hanson has now recorded 20 or more assists 11 times this season—including a season-high 28-assist effort vs. Loras on Sept. 11. …  Hanson heads into Friday's match against Saint Benedict with a team-best 316 assists, with MacVey close behind with 281 helpers. … Saint Mary's 3-2 win over Loras on Sept. 14 was its first five-set match of the season. … The Cardinals are 6-1 in three-set matches and 7-1 in matches extended to four sets. … With their 4-0 showing at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational, the Cardinals have now gone 10-2 in their three regular-season tournaments this season. … 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 Saint Benedict Blazers:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
• With their 3-2 marathon win over Bethel last Friday, the Blazers pushed their winning streak to a season-high eight straight. … Last Friday's win over Bethel was the Blazers fourth five-set match of the season. CSB fell to Coe, Christopher Newport, and Eastern University—all nationally ranked teams—in its other three five-setters. … Laura Schmitt led three CSB players in double figures with 18 kills vs. Bethel last Friday. Briana Schmiesing (13) and Mary Franz (12) also recorded 10 or more kills vs. the Royals. … Schmitt has now recorded 10 or more kills in 11 of the team's 14 matches—including season-highs of 23 (vs. Macalester) and 20 (vs. Christiopher Newport and Buena Vista). … Schmitt heads into Friday's showdown with Saint Mary's boasting a team-best 214 kills, while Meghan Koop is second with 118. … Megan Pekarek has accounted for 513 of the team's 605 assists through 14 matches. … Pekarek dished out 47 assists against the Royals last Friday, —one shy of her season-high 48-assist effort against Buena Vista on Sept. 19. … Pekarek has now recorded six matches of 40 or more assists this season. …  Along with her team-leading 214 kills, Schmitt also leads the team with 21 aces. … The Blazers boast three players—Koop (235), Schmitt (213), and Megan Barta (211)—with 200 or more digs, while Gabi Narvaez (180) and Pekarek (136) have eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Saint Benedict has played just three home matches this season, going 2-1. CSB is 4-0 in road matches and 4-3 in those played on neutral-site courts.