RIPON, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team is back on the road this weekend, squaring off against Alverno, the University of Dubuque, Lawrence, and Ripon as part of the Ripon Red Hawks Invitational.
 
The Ripon Red Hawks Invitational Field:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-1 Overall), St. Catherine Wildcats (6-3 Overall), Alverno Inferno (1-9 Overall), University of Dubuque Spartans (4-4 Overall), Lawrence Vikings (7-4 Overall), Ripon Red Hawks (6-3 Overall)
 
The Ripon Red Hawks Invitational Schedule:
Friday, September 16, 2016 * Court 1
• Ripon vs. St. Catherine, 3:00 | St. Catherine vs. Alverno, 5:00 | Ripon vs. U. of Dubuque, 7:00
Friday, September 16, 2016 * Court 2
• Saint Mary's vs. Alverno, 3:00 | U. of Dubuque vs. Saint Mary's, 5:00
Saturday, September 17, 2016 * Court 1
• Alverno vs. U. of Dubuque, 10:00 | Ripon vs. Alverno, Noon | Ripon vs. Saint Mary's, 2:00
Saturday, September 17, 2016 * Court 2
• Lawrence vs. Saint Mary's, 10:00 | St. Catherine vs. Lawrence, Noon | U. of Dubuque vs. St. Catherine, 2:00
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats/Video will not be available | Video Preview
 
Cardinals' Last Action:
• September 14, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals ran their winning streak to five straight, kicking off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a 3-0 victory over St. Catherine | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Ripon Red Hawks Invitational Opponents—Their Last Meeting:
• vs. University of Dubuque * August 29, 2014 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals in general—and Alex Peterson (Harmony, Minn.) in particular—were in mid-season form against the Spartans, as Peterson banged out a match-high 11 kills in leading Saint Mary's to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-18) victory during the opening day of the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic | Recap
• vs. Ripon * September 19, 2015 * Ripon, Wis.: Saint Mary's completed a clean sweep of the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational with a 3-0 victory over the host Red Hawks. Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) were the Cardinal leaders in their second match of the day against Ripon, as Fadness recorded a match-high 13 kills and hit .478, while Krogstad recorded 29 digs. The duo's efforts earned them All-Tournament honors | Recap
• vs. Alverno, Lawrence: This weekend's matches will be the first in program history between Saint Mary's and both Alverno and Lawrence.
 
Cardinals Up Next:
• The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, returning home to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. match against Hamline.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Cardinals head into this weekend's tournament riding a season-high five-match winning streak. … Saint Mary's has already played two weekend tournaments this season—going 4-0 both times. … At 9-1, the Cardinals are off to their best start to a season since 1990, when Saint Mary's open 15-1 en route to a 24-7 overall record. … 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' current five-match win streak is two shy of last year's season-high seven-win run. … The Cardinals did not lose a set in their four Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic matches last weekend, sweeping Finlandia, St. Norbert, Carroll, and Luther. … Seven of the Cardinals' nine wins have been 3-0 sweeps. Saint Mary's also owns one four-set and one five-set victory. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.)—the reigning MIAC Hitter of the Week—led three Cardinals in double figures with 14 kills against St. Catherine Wednesday. Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.) and Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.) chipped in 12 and 10 kills, respectively. … Blattner, who collected a team-high 64 kills (4.92 kps) in the Cardinals four matches at the St. Catherine Invitational last weekend—including a career-high 29-kill effort against Central-Iowa, has now recorded 10 or more kills in seven of the team's 10 matches. … Blattner's 29 kills vs. the Dutch were the most by a Cardinal since Molli Dant recorded 29 in a four-set match against Wartburg on Oct. 31, 2002. … Blattner picked up her third and fourth double-doubles of the season last weekend at the St. Catherine Invitational, recording 29 kills and 12 digs against Central-Iowa, and a 22-kill, 12-dig effort against Nebraska Wesleyan. Blattner collected 10 double-doubles during her freshman season as a member of the Cardinal women's basketball team a year ago. … Blattner has now led the team in kills in nine of their 10 matches this season, and heads into the Ripon Red Hawks' Invitational with a team-best 140 kills (4.38 kps). … Barth is second on the team in kills with 64 through 10 matches, with Lind close behind with 53. … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) collected her fourth double-double of the season against St. Catherine Wednesday, dishing out 29 assists and adding 16 digs. … The 29 assists equaled Hanson's season high, and marked the fifth time this season she has recorded 20 or more assists. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.), coming off her first collegiate double-double of 24 assists and 16 digs against Nebraska Wesleyan on Sept. 10, chipped in 14 assists vs. St. Catherine Wednesday. … Hanson and Braun have shared the setting duties this season, and head into the weekend with 168 and 154 assists, respectively. … Braun also leads the team in aces with 16, two more than Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.) and three in front of Hanson. … Braun and Hess each own a five-ace match this season—it's the most aces in a match since Hanson recorded six aces against Loras on Sept. 11, 2015. … The Cardinals boast three players with 50 or more digs this season, led by Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) with 161—including 28 against St. Catherine on Wednesday. … Blattner and Thomas have been named to the all-tournament team at both the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic and St. Catherine Invitational … The Cardinal, who played their first five matches at home, are in the midst of a nine-match road trip—not returning home until Sept. 21, when they host Hamline in the teams' conference opener.
 
Scouting The Alverno Inferno:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• With Thursday's match against Rockford and this weekend's Red Hawks Invitational, the Inferno will have played six matches in a five-day span. … The Inferno headed into their busy weekend in the midst of the nine-match losing streak. Alverno opened the season with a 3-0 over Mount Mary, but have gone winless since. … All nine of Alverno's matches during their nine-match losing streak were played on the road. … Alverno has won just three sets during its nine-match slide—dropping six matches by 3-0 decisions and the other three by 3-1 counts. … Melissa Weyand and Jessica Wewers have been the offensive leaders for the Inferno, recording 66 and 65 kills, respectively. Cailey Jeske is third on the team in kills with 53. … Sam Korn and Karissa Minster have accounted for 182 of the team's 194 assists through their first 10 matches—Korn owns a team-leading 120 helpers, with Minster chipping in 62. … Alverno boasts three players—Jeske (17), Danielle Schilawski (12), and Wewers (10)—with 10 or more service aces. … Schilawski is the team's dig leader with 87, 17 more than Alyssa Reinke, with Weyand and Jeske adding 60 and 57, respectively.
 
Scouting The University of Dubuque Spartans:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Spartans head into this weekend sporting a 4-4 overall record through their first eight matches. … UD had its season-high two-match winning streak snapped with Tuesday's 3-1 loss to Luther. … The Spartans have not lost back-to-back matches all season. … Karrah Davis leads the team in kills with 99, and is one of six Spartans with 30 or more kills through eight matches. … Lauren Egnarski (47), Anna Runge (46), Anna Grace (34), Kendall Kaufmann (32), and Alyssa Cose (31) are the others. … Cose has accounted for 245 of the team's 301 assists, and is second in aces with 10, one behind team-leader Karrah Davis. … Jenna Runde has eclipsed the 100-dig plateau this season, owning a team-best 121, while Davis is second with 92 and Jenna Steggall is third with 88. … Dubuque has posted two 3-0 sweeps this season, while the Spartans' other two wins have been four-setters. On the flip side, UD has lost to 3-0 contests, while also losing once in four sets and once in five.
 
Scouting The Lawrence Vikings:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Lawrence enters tournament play this weekend boasting a 7-4 overall record. … The Vikings head into the weekend have dropped both of its matches at the Lawrence Quadrangular Wednesday—falling to both UW-Stevens Point and UW-Oshkosh by 3-0 counts. … All seven of the Vikings' losses this season have been 3-0 sweeps. On the flip side, all four of Lawrence's wins have come in four sets. … Arianna Neumeyer and Rachel Barthel have been the Vikings' offensive leaders this season, compiling 93 and 81 kills, respectively. … Lauren Ray and Sydney Nelson have shared the setting duties, combing for 322 of the team's 348 assists. Ray is the team-leader with 163 helpers, four more than Nelson. … Rachael Wuensch boasts a team-high 19 aces, with Nelson chipping in 10. … Lawrence has two players—Cyra Bammer (154) and Neumeyer (128)—who have eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Liz Arco has a team-high 21 blocks to lead three players with 10 or more blocks through 11 matches.
 
Scouting The Ripon Red Hawks:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Red Hawks head into their home tournament 6-3 and in the mist of a two-match losing streak. … Ripon opened the season with six consecutive wins, but have since dropped three of its last four. … The Red Hawks are 3-1 on their home court this season, while going 3-2 on the road—including 2-2 in neutral-site matches. … Katie Berrell has amassed a team-leading 114 kills through the season's first nine matches, while also hitting a team-best .249. … Paige Buddenhagen is second on the team with 80 kills and a .193 hitting percentage. … Abbi Williamson has been the Red Hawks No. 1 setter, accumulating 239 of the team's 313 assists. … Maddie Koster owns 10 of the team's 36 service aces, with Abbi Williamson and Kendra Holte each chipping in six. … Ripon boasts two players—Stacie Kilka (117) and Koster (105)—who have eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Kat Kulas is the team-leader in blocks with 20, four more than Sydney Radandt. … Four of Ripon's six wins have been 3-0 sweeps, with the other two victories coming in four sets. The Red Hawks have been swept twice, while the other setback was a five-set, 3-2 loss to Macalester last Saturday at the UW-Stevens Point Invitational.