MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team continues a busy Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference weekend on Saturday, heading to Concordia for a 3 p.m. match against the Cobbers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-1 MIAC, 15-2 Overall) at Concordia Cobbers (3-1 MIAC, 6-8 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 30, 2016 * St. Joseph, Minn.: The Cardinals shook off a slow start, rattling off three straight set wins to beat Saint Benedict 3-1 at Claire Lynch Hall | Recap
• Concordia—September 30, 2016 * St. Olaf, Minn.: The Cobbers continued their winning ways of late, cruising to a 3-1 conference win over St. Olaf at Memorial Auditorium | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—A Year Ago:
• October 3, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: The Cobbers entered their MIAC showdown with the Cardinals riding a five-match winning streak—not to mention boasting an unblemished 4-0 conference record. Saint Mary's, however, was unfazed by the Cobbers' impressive resume, using a 14-0 run to start the second set and an 8-0 burst to end the third to put away Concordia, 3-0 on Senior Day at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• November 3, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Cassidy Bittle (Winona, Minn.) collected nine kills and three blocks, and Tayler MacVey (Dodge Center, Minn.) recorded her team-leading sixth double-double with 15 assists and 13 digs, as the Cardinals swept Concordia 3-0 in the opening round of the MIAC Playoffs at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Wednesday, heading to Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference matchup against St. Olaf.
• Concordia: The Cobbers step out of conference play on Monday, hosting UM-Morris in a 6 p.m. nonconference match at Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Saturday's match against Concordia is the second 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. … Nine of the Cardinals' 14 wins have been 3-0 sweeps. Saint Mary's also owns four four-set wins and one five-set victory. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) collected a team-high 16 kills, while Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.) and Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.) chipped in 11 and 10 kills, respectively, against Saint Benedict Friday evening. … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Minn.) and Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) shared the setting duties, posting 22 and 19 assists, respectively. … Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) delivered a team-high 21 digs against the Blazers Friday. … Blattner and Hanson each finished with double-doubles for the Cardinals, as Blattner added 14 digs to her 16 kills, while Hanson finished with 13 digs to go with her 22 assists. … The double-double was Hanson's team-leading seventh of the season, while Blattner—who owned 10 double-doubles as a member of the Cardinal women's basketball team last season—has six. Braun is third on the team with three double-doubles, and Urban has one. … Blattner has now led the team in kills in 13 of their 17 matches this season, and heads into Saturday's match at Concordia with a team-best 220 kills (4.07 kps). … Blattner's 220 kills and 4.07 kps are both tops in the conference. … Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.) is second on the team in kills with 119 through 17 matches, with Lind third with 105. … 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 Saturday's Concordia match with 289 and 263 assists, respectively. … Braun also leads the team in aces with 25, two more than Hanson and five in front of Thomas. … Braun and Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.) 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. … Hanson equaled her season-high with 29 assists against St. Catherine on Sept. 14, and has recorded 20 or more assists 10 times this season—including six of the Cardinals' last seven matches. … 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 297—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. … 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Friday's 3-1 win over St. Olaf pushed the Cobbers' winning streak to three in a row—having beating UM-Morris (3-2), Hamline (3-0) and St. Olaf (3-1). … Saturday's match against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight home matches for the Cobbers, who are 2-1 on their home court this season. … Brianna Carney and Haley Cuppett led the way for the Cobbers against St. Olaf on Friday, collecting 15 and 12 kills, respectively. … Jenna Klaphake accounted for 45 of the team's 51 assists vs. the Oles Friday, while Klaphake also added four aces, and Mandy Mercil posted 20 digs. … The Cobbers head into Saturday's match against Saint Mary's boasting three players with 100 or more kills—Emily Friedrich (157), Cuppett (130), and Carney (125). … Friedrich has had 10 or more kills a team-high seven matches this season—including a season-high 22-kill effort against Coe on Sept. 3. … Klaphake has amassed a team-high 424 assists this season, while also leading the team in service aces with 15, one more than Mercil. … CC has five players with 100 or more digs through 15 matches, led by Stephanie Baker with 206 and Mercil with 190. … Three of Concordia's six wins have come in five sets—the Cobbers are 1-5 in three-set matches and 4-4 in four-setters, while going 3-2 in matches extended to a fifth and final set.