NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team is back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals head to St. Olaf's Skoglund Center for a 7 p.m. match against the Oles.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-1 MIAC, 16-2 Overall) at St. Olaf Oles (0-5 MIAC, 7-11 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | Video Preview
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 30-Oct. 1: The Cardinals dropped just one set in beating both Saint Benedict and Concordia last weekend. After dropping Set 1, Saint Mary's rattled off three straight set wins in beating Saint Benedict 3-1 last Friday in St. Joseph, Minn., before cruising to a 3-0 win over Concordia in Moorhead, Minn., a day later | CSB Recap * CC Recap
• St. Olaf—September 30-Oct. 1: The Oles lost both of their conference matches last weekend, falling to Concordia 3-1 in Moorhead, Minn., last Friday, before dropping a 3-1 decision at Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., a day later | CC Recap * CSB Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf—A Year Ago:
• October 7, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) hammered out a team-high 17 kills—one shy of her season best—as the Cardinals rallied from a 2-1 deficit and outlasted St. Olaf 3-2 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals head to Aston, Pa., this weekend, squaring off against Keystone, Penn State-Behrend, Neumann, and Rowan as part of the Neumann Invitational.
• St. Olaf: The Oles step out of conference play on Saturday, hosting North Central (Minn.) in a 3 p.m. nonconference match at Skoglund Center in Northfield, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Wednesday's match against St. Olaf is the third of 10 straight road matches for the Cardinals, who do not return home until Oct. 21, when they begin a stretch of four consecutive matches at the Saint Mary's Gym to close out the regular season. … Both of the Cardinals' losses this season have come at the Saint Mary's Gym. … Saturday's win over Concordia was the Cardinals' 10^th 3-0 sweep of the season. Saint Mary's also owns four, four-set wins and one five-set victory. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) collected a team-high 16 kills in both matches last weekend. … Blattner also finished with 14 and 10 digs against Saint Benedict and Concordia, respectively, and has now recorded seven double-doubles this season. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) and Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Minn.) shared the setting duties last weekend, posting 37 and 25 assists, respectively. … Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) combined for a team-leading 35 digs in Saint Mary's two matches last weekend. … Hanson posted her seventh double-double of the season with 22 assists and 13 digs against Saint Benedict last Friday. … Hanson's 22 assists vs. Saint Benedict marked the 11^th time this season the Cardinal setter has dished out 20 or more helpers in a match—including a season-high 29 twice. … Braun is third on the team with three double-doubles, while Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.) has one. … Blattner has now led the team in kills in 14 of their 18 matches this season, and heads into Wednesday's match at St. Olaf with a team-best 236 kills (4.14 kps). … Blattner's 236 kills and 4.14 kps are both tops in the conference. … Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.) is second on the team in kills with 125 through 18 matches, with Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.) third with 113. … Blattner recorded a career-high 29 kills vs. Central-Iowa on Sept. 9—it was the most by a Cardinal since Molli Dant recorded 29 in a four-set match against Wartburg on Oct. 31, 2002. … Hanson and Braun have shared the setting duties this season, and head into Wednesday's St. Olaf match with 302 and 281 assists, respectively. … Braun also leads the team in aces with 27, four more than Hanson and five in front of Thomas. … The Cardinals boast three players—Braun, Thomas, and Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.)—who have posted five-ace matches this season. Hess has done it twice—vs. Alverno on Sept. 16 and against UW-Eau Claire on Sept. 7—while Braun achieved the feat against Carroll on Sept. 3 and Thomas did it vs. Ripon Sept. 17. … The five aces are the most aces in a match since Hanson recorded six aces against Loras on Sept. 11, 2015. … 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 four players with 100 or more digs this season, led by Thomas with 311—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' 311 digs through 18 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. … Blattner and Thomas have been named to the all-tournament team in all three of the Cardinals' regular-season tournaments this season. … The Cardinals' 3-0 loss to St. Thomas on Sept. 24 snapped their season-high 10-match winning streak. … The Cardinals' 10-match run was the second-longest winning streak in program history. … Saint Mary's 14-1 record through its first 15 matches was its best start to the season since 1990, when the Cardinals—behind a school-record 13-match winning streak—opened 15-1. … Saint Mary's has not lost a regular-season tournament match all year—going 4-0 at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, St. Catherine Invitational and Ripon Red Hawk Invitational. … 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. … The Cardinals did not lose a set in their four, season-opening Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic matches, sweeping Finlandia, St. Norbert, Carroll, and Luther. 
 
Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Wednesday's match against Saint Mary's is the first of three straight home matches for the Oles, who play six of their final eight contests on their home court. … St. Olaf owns a 2-3 record on its home court, while going 1-5 on the road and 4-3 in neutral-site matches. … With their losses to Concordia and Saint Benedict last weekend, the Oles—who opened the season 7-3—saw their losing streak climb to eight straight. … St. Olaf's last three losses have all been 3-1 decisions. … Megan Grimes and Lauren Rewers head into Wednesday's showdown against Saint Mary's as the team's offensive leaders, boasting 183 and 168 kills, respectively. … Rewers is also hitting a team-high .237. … Renata Erickson has accounted for 407 of the team's 615 assists, with Abigail Wiedel chipping in 146 helpers. … Angela Fusselman leads the team with 27 service aces. She is one of four Oles with 10 or more aces through 17 matches. … Abby Slack leads a trio of St. Olaf players with 100 or more digs, owning a team-high 292. Fusselman (144) and Erickson (102) have also eclipsed the century mark in digs. … Four of St. Olaf's seven wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps. The Oles are 1-4 in four-set matches, while going 2-1 in matches stretched to a fifth and deciding set.