WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team is back on its home court at the Saint Mary's Gym on Saturday, as the Cardinals host Macalester in a 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-3 MIAC, 21-4 Overall) vs. Macalester Scots (1-7 MIAC, 9-15 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 21, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals rallied from a 24-20 deficit in the first set to win 28-26, but had not late-set magic in the next three sets in falling to Bethel 3-1 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Macalester—October 21, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Scots snapped a four-match losing streak Friday night, rolling to a 3-0 nonconference win over Northland at Leonard Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—A Year Ago:
• October 24, 2015 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals—coming off a 3-0 loss to Bethel the night before—could not get on track in falling behind the host Scots 2-0 with a pair of identical 25-22 setbacks. Fortunately, a third Scot victory never materialized, as Saint Mary's rattled off three straight set wins—25-22, 25-15, and 15-12—to ice the 3-2, come-from-behind Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back on their home court at the Saint Mary's Gym on Wednesday, hosting Carleton in a 7 p.m. conference match.
• Macalester: The Scots return home to the Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday, entertaining Bethel in a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Saturday's match against Macalester is the second of four straight home matches to close out the regular-season for the Cardinals, who own a 5-3 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 on Oct. 12 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. … Brandi Blattner set a single-match school record in the rally scoring era with 31 kills against Bethel Friday night. The 31 kills were two better than her previous career-high 29, recorded against Central-Iowa on Sept. 9. … Blattner's 31 and 29 kills are the most by a Cardinal since Molli Dant recorded 29 in a four-set match against Wartburg on Oct. 31, 2002. … Blattner—who has led the team in kills in 21 of their 25 matches this season—now owns five matches of 20 or more kills this season. … Blattner added 13 digs against Bethel for her 12^th double-double of the season. … The Cardinals boasted a season-high three players record double-doubles against Augsburg on Oct. 12. Blattner 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. … Braun and Hanson dished out 28 and 26 assists, respectively against the Royals Friday, while Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) led a trio of Saint Mary's players in double figures in digs with 19. … Hanson added 10 digs to her 26 assists vs. the Royals for her 10^th double-double of the season. … Braun boasts five double-doubles this season. … Saint Mary's had a season-high 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 Thomas. … Blattner heads into Saturday's match against Macalester owning a team- and conference-leading 361 kills, while also hitting .236. … Hanson's 26 assists against Bethel marks the 13^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 Saturday's match vs. Macalester with a team-leading 441 assists, with Braun close behind at 410. … Lexi Barth (Bryon, Minn.) is second to Blattner in kills with 164, while Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn. / 160) and Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn. / 113) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau. … Braun is the team-leader in aces with 41, five 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 on Oct. 8. … 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 453—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' 453 digs through 25 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 Macalester Scots:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Saturday's match against Saint Mary's is the final road match of the season for the Scots, who close out their 2016 regular-season campaign on their home court against Bethel and St. Thomas. … The Scots put an end to their four-match losing streak with Friday's 3-0 win over Northland. … Macalester's last two wins have both been 3-0 sweeps—nonconference wins over Northland and Crown. … The Scots head into Saturday's match at Saint Mary's boasting three players with 100 or more kills, led by Clara Baumann with 229 and India Medaris with 214. Brooke Hunter (137) and Caitlyn O'Neil (121) have also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Hunter also owns a team-high 426 kills, while Samantha Bongiorno owns 201 helpers. … Macalester has six players with 10 or more service aces—led by Alexis Foret with 26 and Hunter with 20. … Baumann and Hoal-Nam Bul are the team's dig leaders with 327 and 300, respectively, with Foret (229), Hunter (191), and Medaris (130) also owning 130 or more digs. … Ten of Macalester's 15 losses have been 3-0 sweeps. The Scots have also dropped five 3-1 decisions. Macalester has not lost a five-set match this season, going  2-0. On the flip side, the Scots have posted three, 3-0 sweeps and four, 3-1 wins.