ASTON, PA. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team steps out of conference play this weekend, squaring off against Keystone, Penn State-Behrend, Neumann, and Rowan as part of the Neumann Invitational
 
The Neumann Invitational Field:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (17-2 Overall), Keystone Giants (10-5 Overall), Penn State-Behrend Lions (9-8 Overall), Neumann Knights (7-11 Overall), Rowan Profs (3-13 Overall), King's Monarchs (12-6 Overall), Washington (Md.) Shorewomen (6-7 Overall), Scranton Royals (1-12 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Tournament Homepage | Live Stats (not available) | Video Preview
 
The Neumann Invitational Schedule:
Friday, October 7, 2016 * Court 1
• Neumann vs. King's, 4:00 | PSU-Behrend vs. Washington (Md.), 6:00 | Neumann vs. Washington (Md.), 8:00
Friday, October 7, 2016 * Court 2
• Rowan vs. Keystone, 4:00 | King's vs. Rowan, 6:00 | PSU-Behrend vs. Saint Mary's, 8:00
Friday, October 7, 2016 * Court 3
• Saint Mary's vs. Keystone, 6:00
Saturday, October 8, 2016 * Court 1
• Neumann vs. Saint Mary's, 10:00 | PSU-Behrend vs. Scranton, Noon | Neumann vs. Scranton, 2:00
Saturday, October 8, 2016 * Court 2
• PSU-Behrend vs. King's, 10:00 | King's vs. Washington (Md.), Noon | Rowan vs. Saint Mary's, 2:00
 
Cardinals' Last Action:
• October 5, 2016 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals got 20 kills from Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and rolled to a 3-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over St. Olaf at Skoglund Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Neumann Invitational Opponents—Their Last Meeting:
• This weekend's matches will mark the first time in program history that the Cardinals have faced Keystone, Penn State-Behrend, Neumann, or Rowan.
 
Cardinals Up Next:
• The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, traveling to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 7 p.m. match against the Auggies.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Cardinals head into this weekend's tournament action unbeaten in regular-season tournament play this 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. … With their win over St. Olaf on Wednesday, the Cardinals—winners of three straight—improved to 17-2 overall—equaling the best 19-match start to the season in program history. … 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. … Wednesday's victory over St. Olaf was the Cardinals 11^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.) recorded a team- and match-high 20 kills against St. Olaf Wednesday. It was the third time this season the sophomore has recorded 20 or more kills in a match. … 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. … Blattner has now led the team in kills in 15 of their 19 matches this season, and heads into this weekend's Neumann Invitational with a team-best 256 kills (4.27 kps). … Blattner's 256 kills and 4.27 kps are both tops in the conference. … Blattner owns seven double-doubles, sharing the team lead with Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa). … Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.) is second on the team in kills with 128 through 19 matches, while Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.) is third with 117. … Hanson and Braun have shared the setting duties this season, and head into the weekend with 320 and 293 assists, respectively. … Hanson has dished out 20 or more assists 11 times this season—including a season-high 29 twice. … Braun is the team-leader in aces with 27, three more than Hanson and five in front of Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.). … 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 328—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' 328 digs through 19 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.
 
Scouting The Keystone Giants:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Giants head into Friday's matches having won 10 of their last 11. Keystone opened the season with four straight losses, before rattling off a season-best 10-match winning streak. That 10-match run came to a halt last Saturday, as the Giants dropped a 3-2 decision to Dickinson. … Eight of Keystone's 10 wins have been 3-0 sweeps. Keystone also owns a 3-1 win over Wilkes and a 3-2 victory vs. Immaculata. … Hannah Zuchowski has been the offensive leader for the Giants this season, compiling a team-leading 171 kills, while hitting .243. … Zuchowwski's 171 kills are nearly 100 more than Kristen Larkin, who is second on the team with 71 kills. … Mailey Bowen and Sydney Binkley have shared the setting duties for the Giants, with Bowen owning a team-best 256 assists, with Binkley chipping in 165. … Keystone has served up 161 aces through 15 matches, led by Victoria Homfeld with 48 and Pamela Heitman with 35. … The Giants boast three players—Heitman (197), Zuchowski (122), and Homfeld (118)—with 100 or more digs. … Keystone has won the first set in 12 of its 15 matches this season. … Keystone—which competes in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC)—is currently 6-0 in conference play this season.
 
Scouting The Penn State-Behrend Lions:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Lions head into tournament play boasting a 9-8 overall record. … PSU-Behrend snapped a two-match losing streak with a 3-0 road win over Hilbert last Tuesday. … The Lions have lost back-to-back matches just twice this season, while also putting together a pair of two-match winning streaks. … Six of the Lions' nine wins have come on the road this season. PSU-Behrend is 3-3 on its home court, while going 6-5 on the road—including 4-2 in neutral-site matches. … The Lions boast three players—Amanda Henry (152), Rachel Frye (151), and Paige Scrupa (130)—who have recorded 100 or more kills this season. … Hannah Saunders has amassed 469 of the team's 652 assists. … Henry is the team's service ace leader with 23, while Saunders (11) and Meredith Snyder (11) have also serviced up 10 or more aces this season. … The Lions have five players who have eclipsed the 100-dig plateau, including two—Scrupa (208) and Snyder (207)—who have 200 or more digs through 17 matches. … As a team, the Lions are hitting .187, and are averaging 11.2 kills-per-set, 10.35 assists-per-set, and 15.8 digs-per-set. … PSU-Behrend—which competes in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC)—is currently 1-2 in conference play this season.
 
Scouting The Neumann Knights:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• After opening the season 1-7, the host Knights have gone 6-4 in their last 10—including three wins in their last four contests. … Four of Neumann's seven wins this season have come on their home court, where the Knights are 4-4. Neumann is 3-7 on the road, including 2-4 in neutral-site matches. … Hayley Glah and Melanie Malseed have been the Knights' offensive leaders, boasting 167 and 141 kills, respectively. … Rachel Cray has accounted for 494 of the team's 594 assists, while also leading the team with 24 service aces—two more than Rachael Hoffman and four in front of Nikki Collevechio. … Collevechio leads a trio of Knights with 100 or more digs, boasting a team-best 268. Glah (182) and Cray (179) have also eclipsed the 100-dgi plateau. … Four of Neumann's seven wins have been 3-0 sweeps. The Knights are 4-6 in three-set matches, but just 2-5 in four-setters. Neumann has played one five-set match this season, beating Widener 3-2 on Sept. 17. … Neumann—which competes in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC)—is currently 2-1 in conference play this season.
 
Scouting The Rowan Profs:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Profs head into this weekend's Neumann Invitational with a 3-13 overall record. … Rowan dropped a 3-1 decision to Montclair State last Tuesday, pushing its losing streak to four in a row. It's the second time this season the Profs have dropped four straight. … All four of the Rowan's losses during its current four-match slide have been 3-1 decisions. … The Profs are winless (0-8) in three-set matches, while going 2-4 in four-setters and 1-1 in matches decided in five sets. … Rowan has won the opening set in just two of its 16 matches this season. The Profs are also 4-12 in the second and third sets. … Erica O'Hagan and Megan Jacobi are the Profs' offensive leaders, boasting 156 and 128 kills, respectively. … Jacobi is also hitting a team-leading .1765. … Rowan boasts three players—Katelyn Paxson (198), Kat Wolf (131), and Mary-Grace Testa (135)—with 100 or more assists. … Paxson leads the team in service aces with 25, while Jacob (16), Wolfe (11), and Rebecca Dantonio (11) have also served up 10 or more aces through 16 matches. … Dantonio is the team's dig leader with 213, with Paxson and Erin Keegan chipping in 123 and 116 digs, respectively. … Rowan boasts six players with 10 or ore blocks, led by Jamie Shirtz with 36. … Rowan—which competes in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) —is currently 2-2 in conference play this season.