WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Hamline in a 7 p.m. match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 MIAC, 13-1 Overall) vs. Hamline Pipers (1-0 MIAC, 6-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | Video Preview | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 16-17, 2016 * Ripon, Wis.—The Cardinals went a perfect 4-0 at last weekend's Ripon Red Hawks Invitational, beating Alverno (3-0), University of Dubuque (3-1), Lawrence (3-1), and Ripon (3-1) | Day 1 Recap * Day 2 Recap
• Hamline—September 14, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: In a match that saw 37 tie scores and 16 lead changes, the Pipers kicked off conference play with a 3-1 victory over Carleton at Hutton Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—A Year Ago:
• September 23, 2015 * St. Paul, Minn.: After three straight nail-biting sets—all three decided by two points—the Cardinals took control, cruising to a match-clinching 25-17 win in Set 4 to lift Saint Mary's to the 3-1 conference victory over the Pipers at Hutton Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on their home court on Saturday, hosting St. Thomas in a 3 p.m. conference match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Hamline: The Pipers return to Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, entertaining Concordia in a 3 p.m. match
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Cardinals head into Wednesday's MIAC match against Hamline riding a season-high nine-match winning streak. … The Cardinals' nine-match run is their longest since winning nine in a row during the 2003 season. … At 13-1, Saint Mary's is off to its best start since 1990, when the Cardinals—behind a 13-match winning streak—opened 15-1. … Saint Mary's has now played in three tournament this season—going 4-0 in all three. Along with last weekend's Ripon Red Hawks Invitational, Saint Mary's also went unbeaten at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic and the St. Catherine 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. … Eight of the Cardinals' 13 wins have been 3-0 sweeps. Saint Mary's also owns three four-set and one five-set victories. … After nine straight road matches, Wednesday's showdown with Hamline is the first of back-to-back home matches for the Cardinals, who also host St. Thomas on Saturday. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) led the Cardinal offensive attack at the Ripon Red Hawks Invitational last weekend, collecting a team-best 49 kills, while Lexi Barth (Bryon, Minn.) chipped in 31 and Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.) added 27. … Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.), who finished with 16 kills in four tournament matches, hit a team-high. 389 last weekend. … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) and Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) dished out 67 and 58 assists, respectively, last weekend, while Hanson also served up a team-best eight aces. … Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.) posted a season- and career-high 30 assists in the Cardinals' 3-0 win over Alverno last Friday. … Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) finished with a team-leading 85 digs—she was one of three Cardinals with 40 or more digs in the four matches. Hanson and Clare Tack (St. Charles, Ill.) each chipped in 40 digs. … Braun (18 assists, 10 digs vs. both Lawrence and Ripon) and Hanson (20 assists 16 digs vs. Dubuque; 24 assists, 16 digs vs. Lawrence) each put together a pair of double-doubles during the Ripon Red Hawks Invitational last weekend, while Blattner (17 kills, 11 digs vs. Ripon) had one. … Hanson leads the team with six double-doubles, while Blattner—who owned 10 double-doubles as a member of the Cardinal women's basketball team last season—has five, Braun has three, and Urban has one. … Blattner's career-high 29 kills vs. Central-Iowa on Sept. 9 were 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 12 of their 14 matches this season, and heads into Wednesday's match against Hamline with a team-best 189 kills (4.30 kps). … Barth is second on the team in kills with 95 through 14 matches, with Lind close behind with 80. … Hanson equaled her season-high with 29 assists against St. Catherine last Wednesday, and has recorded 20 or more assists eight times this season—including each of her last four matches.. … Hanson and Braun have shared the setting duties this season, and head into Wednesday's showdown with Hamline with 235 and 212 assists, respectively. … Hanson also leads the team in aces with 21, one more than Braun and two in front of Hess. … 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 100 or more digs this season, led by Thomas with 146—including the team's top five single-match performances. Thomas posted a season-high 32 digs against Dubuque last Friday, recorded 31 against Central-Iowa on Sept. 9, tallied 28 against both St. Catherine on Sept. 14 and Lawrence last Saturday, and notched 26 vs. Nebraska-Wesleyan on Sept. 10. … Blattner and Thomas were named to the Ripon Red Hawks Invitational all-tournament team. It was the third time in as many tournaments that Blattner and Thomas have been named all-tournament.
 
 Scouting The Hamline Pipers:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Pipers' 3-1 win over Carleton last Wednesday snapped their two-match losing streak. … Hamline opened the season with three straight wins and was 5-1 before dropping back-to-back matches to Nebraska Wesleyan (3-2) and Luther (3-0). … Hamline boasted six players with 10 or more kills in its 3-1 win over Carleton last Wednesday. Jena Meyer led the way for HU with 14 kills vs. the Knights, while Cassidy Bittle and Julia Zolnosky each chipped in 12. … Zolnosky and Bittle are the team's offensive leaders, heading into Wednesday's matchup against Saint Mary's boasting 83 and 81 kills, respectively. … Morgen Coleman, who dished out a career-high 45 assists against Carleton last Wednesday, has accounted for 281 of the team's 361 assists this season. … HU boasts two players—Amelia Jensen (16) and Megan Anderson (10)—with 10 or more aces through the Pipers' first nine matches. … Jensen also leads the team in digs with 157, followed by Coleman (86) and Marisa Franco (73). … Hamline had five players with 10 or more digs vs. the Knights last Wednesday, led by Jensen with 26. … Hamline has won the opening set in seven of its nine matches this season. … The Pipers have posted three, 3-0 victories, while their other three wins have come in four sets. On the flip side, HU has been swept twice, with the other loss coming in five sets.