WINONA, Minn. — After 10 straight road matches, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team finally returns home on Friday, entertaining Bethel in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-2 MIAC, 21-3 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (4-4 MIAC, 14-8 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | Video Preview | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 12, 2016 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Cardinals had their seven-match winning streak snapped, as league-leading Augsburg handed Saint Mary's a 3-1 conference setback at Si Melby Hall | Recap
• Bethel: The sets were closer than the final score might indicate, but for the Royals, the end result was still a loss, as Augsburg remained unbeaten and atop the conference standings with a 3-0 victory at Si Melby Hall| Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• October 23, 2015 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Saint Mary's headed into its conference showdown against Bethel sitting in second place in the conference standings at 6-1—holding a one-half game lead over Saint Benedict, while leading Bethel by a full game. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that slim lead vanished Friday evening. Bethel used a pair of convincing performances in the second and third sets in handing the Cardinals a 3-0 conference setback—creating  a three-way bottleneck for second place, and that all-important first-round bye in the MIAC Playoffs | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back on their home court on Saturday, hosting Macalester in a 3 p.m. conference match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Bethel: The Royals return home to the Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., on Saturday, squaring off against St. Thomas in a 3 p.m. MIAC matchup.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Friday's match against Bethel is the first of four straight home matches to close out the regular-season for the Cardinals, who own a 5-2 record at home this season. … Despite their 3-1 loss to league-leading Augsburg on Oct. 12, the Cardinals enter Friday's match against Bethel boasting a 21-3 overall record—their best 24-match start in program history. … Saint Mary's 3-1 loss to Augsburg snapped the Cardinals' seven-match winning streak. … Seventeen of the Cardinals' 21 wins have come via two lengthy winning streaks—one of 10 matches and the other of seven. … Saint Mary's season-opening 10-match winning streak was the second-longest in program history. … The Cardinals had three players record double-doubles against Augsburg on Oct. 12. Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) notched 18 kills and 11 digs, while setters Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) and Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) added 21 assists and 14 digs, and 19 assists and 16 digs, respectively. … Blattner has now collected a team-high 11 double-doubles this season, while Hanson owns nine and Braun five. … Saint Mary's had five players record at least 10 digs vs. the Auggies on Oct. 12. Along with Blattner, Hanson, and Braun, the Cardinals also got 15 digs from Clare Tack (St. Charles, Ill.) and a team-high 20 from Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.). … Blattner heads into Friday's match against Bethel owning a team- and conference-leading 334 kills, while also hitting .229. … Blattner—who has led the team in kills in 20 of their 24 matches this season—owns four matches of 20 or more kills this season—including a career-high 29 kills vs. Central-Iowa on Sept. 9. Blattner's 29 kills were the most by a Cardinal since Molli Dant recorded 29 in a four-set match against Wartburg on Oct. 31, 2002. … Hanson's 21 assists against Augsburg on Oct. 12 marked the 12^th time this season she has posted 20 or more assists in a match. … Hanson recorded a season-high 31 assists in the Cardinals' 3-0 win over Penn State-Behrend on Oct 8. … Hanson enters the weekend with a team-leading 415 assists, with Braun close behind at 382. … Lexi Barth (Bryon, Minn.) is second to Blattner in kills with 157, while Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn. / 149) and Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn. / 105) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau. … Braun is the team-leader in aces with 39, four more than Thomas. The duo are two of four Cardinals with 20 or more aces this season. … The Cardinals boast four players—Braun, Thomas, Blattner, and Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.)—who have posted five or more aces in a match this season. Thomas recorded a season- and career-high seven aces in Saint Mary's 3-1 win over Rowan last Saturday. … Thomas' seven aces are the most in a match since Megan Roesler and Lisa Engdahl served up seven aces during the 2005 season. … Hess posted a season- and career-high 30 assists in the Cardinals' 3-0 win over Alverno on Sept. 16, while notching a career-high four blocks in the Cardinals' Sept. 24 loss to St. Thomas. … The Cardinals boast five players with 100 or more digs this season, led by Thomas with 434—including the team's top five single-match dig performances. Thomas posted a season-high 32 digs against Dubuque on Sept. 16, recorded 31 against Central-Iowa on Sept. 9, tallied 28 against both St. Catherine on Sept. 14 and Lawrence on Sept. 17, and notched 26 vs. Nebraska-Wesleyan on Sept. 10. … Thomas' 434 digs through 23 matches are already a single-season career high. … The Cardinals had 10 different players record at least one kill in their 3-0 win over Hamline on Sept. 21. … Fourteen of the Cardinals 21 wins this season have come via 3-0 sweeps. Saint Mary's also owns five, four-set wins and one five-set victory. … The Cardinals were a perfect 16-0 in regular-season tournament play this season—going 4-0 at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, St. Catherine Invitational, Ripon Red Hawk Invitational, and the Neumann Invitational. … Blattner and Thomas were named to the all-tournament team in each of the Cardinals' four regular-season tournaments. … Saint Mary's 4-0 run through the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic marked the first time the Cardinals had opened with four straight wins since 2008, when they opened 7-0.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Royals close out the regular season sandwiching road trips to Saint Mary's and Macalester around a home match against St. Thomas. Bethel is a near-perfect 8-2 on their home court at Robertson Center, while managing just a 6-6 record on the road—including a 5-0 mark in neutral-site matches. … Last Saturday's 3-0 loss to league-leading Augsburg snapped the Royals' four-match conference winning streak. After opening conference play 0-4, the Royals had rattled off four consecutive MIAC wins before falling to the Auggies. … Bethel opened the year with seven straight wins and eight wins in their first nine. Since then, the Royals have managed to go just 7-7 in their last 14. … Bethel heads into Friday's showdown against Saint Mary's boasting five players with 100 or more kills, including two—Tina Hoppe (258) and Callie Sinclair (207)—with 200 or more. … Hoppe is also hitting a team-beat .220, with Sinclair close behind at .213. … Katie Lubben and Holly Eilwanger have shared the setting duties this season, with Lubben dishing out a team-high 445 assists, seven more than Eilwanger. … Eilwanger is the team's assist leader with 36. She is one of five BU players with 10 or more aces this season. … Dominque Dabu (237), Hoppe (211), and Sinclair (205) have all recorded 200 or more digs, while Carlee Hoppe (195), Eilwanger (175), Lubben (156), and Jillian Krier (103) have all eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … The Royals have played just three matches that have been extended to the a fifth set—BU beat Aurora 3-2, while losing 3-2 to both Gustavus and Carleton. The Royals also own six 3-0 wins and seven four-set victories.