WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team is back on its home court at the Saint Mary's Gym on Wednesday, as the Cardinals host Carleton in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match.
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-3 MIAC, 22-4 Overall) vs. Carleton Knights (4-5 MIAC, 13-7 Overall)
GameDay Live On The Web:
•
Live Stats *
Live Video |
GameDay Program
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 21-22, 2016 * Winona Minn. | The Cardinals went 1-1 in their two MIAC matches last weekend at the Saint Mary's Gym, falling to Bethel 3-1 last Friday, before rebounding with a 3-0 win over Macalester a day later | Bethel Recap * Macalester Recap
• Carleton—October 21-22, 2016 * Northfield, Minn.: The Knights led early, but could not close the deal in falling to Saint Benedict 3-1 at West Gym last Friday, while Lucy Stevens recorded a team-high 16 kills—including the 1,000
th of her collegiate career—in leading the Knights to a 3-0 conference win over Concordia a day later|
Saint Benedict Recap *
Concordia Recap
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton—A Year Ago:
• October 28, 2015 * Northfield, Minn.: After having to rally from a 2-0 deficit to beat Macalester 3-2 in their last match, the Cardinals took a little different approach in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Carleton. With very favorable results. Saint Mary's sandwiched a pair of 25-20 wins around a convincing 25-17 Set 2 victory en route to a 3-0 conference win over Carleton at West Gym.
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals close out the regular-season portion of their schedule with their fourth straight home match on Saturday, as Saint Mary's entertains Gustavus in a 3 p.m. showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Carleton: The Knights head back to West Gym in Northfield, Minn., on Friday, hosting cross-town rival St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup.
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster |
2016 Statistics |
2016 Schedule
• Wednesday's match against Carleton is the third of four straight home matches to close out the regular-season for the Cardinals, who own a 6-3 record at home this season. … With their win against Macalester last Saturday, the Cardinals improved to 22-4 overall—marking the fourth straight season, and 10
th time under coach
Mike Lester, that Saint Mary's has won 20 or more matches. … The Cardinals' 22 wins are the most since going 24-9 in 2013. … Saint Mary's 3-1 loss to league-leading Augsburg on Oct. 12 snapped the Cardinals' seven-match winning streak. … Seventeen of the Cardinals' 22 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 (Eyota, Minn.) set a single-match school record in the rally scoring era with 31 kills against Bethel last Friday. 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 followed up her 31-kill performance with a team-best 16 kills vs. Macalester—has led the team in kills in 22 of their 26 matches this season. … Blattner owns five matches of 20 or more kills this season. … Blattner added 13 digs against Bethel last Friday for her team-leading 12
th double-double of the season. … Blattner heads into Wednesday's match against Carleton owning a team- and conference-leading 381 kills, while also hitting .237. …
Lexi Barth (Bryon, Minn.) is second to Blattner in kills with 176, while
Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn. / 164) and
Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn. / 116) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau. …
Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) recorded back-to-back double-doubles—her 10
th and 11
th of the season—with 26 assists and 10 digs against Bethel last Friday, and 24 assists and 11 digs against Macalester a day later. … Hanson has now recorded 14 matches of 20 or more assists. … Hanson recorded a season-high 31 assists in the Cardinals' 3-0 win over Penn State-Behrend on Oct 8. … Hanson enters Wednesday's match vs. Carleton with a team-leading 465 assists, with
Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) close behind at 423. … Braun is the team-leader in aces with 45, eight more than
Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.). 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. … The Cardinals boasted a season-high three players record double-doubles against Augsburg on Oct. 12. Blattner notched 18 kills and 11 digs, while Hanson and Braun added 21 assists and 14 digs, and 19 assists and 16 digs, respectively. … 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. … 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 469—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' 469 digs 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. … Fifteen of the Cardinals 22 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 Carleton Knights:
2016 Roster |
2016 Statistics |
2016 Schedule
• Carleton's 3-0 win over Concordia last Saturday snapped the Knights' three-match losing streak. … After opening the season 8-1—including a season-opening five-match winning streak—Carleton is just 5-6 in its last 11 matches. … Lucy Stevens recorded a match-high 16 kills in the Knights' 3-0 win over Concordia last Saturday—including the junior's 1,000
th career kill. … Stevens is the fourth Knight in program history to eclipse the 1,000-kill plateau. … Stevens owns a team-high 293 kills and is one of five Knights with 100 or more kills this season. Katherine Miles (140), Elyse Wasenried (116), Maggie Carragher (113), and Faith Skinner (108) are the others. … Caroline Duke and Emily Tonogai have shared the setting duties this season, with Duke dishing out 423 helpers, while Tonogai has added 316. … Carleton boasts six players with 10 or more service aces—led by Tonogai and Anna Flitner with 27. … Katie Tritschler has amassed a team-high 413 digs, leading five Knights with 100 or more digs. … Six of Carleton's 13 wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps. The Knights also own three, four-set wins, and four five-setters. … Carleton is 5-3 at West Gym this season, while going 8-4 on the road—including 5-1 in neutral-site matches.
