ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team kicks off a busy Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference weekend on Friday, heading to Saint Benedict for a 7 p.m. match against the Blazers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-1 MIAC, 14-2 Overall) at Saint Benedict Blazers (2-1 MIAC, 7-7 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | Video Preview
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 24, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals suffered just their second loss of the season, as St. Thomas handed Saint Mary's a 3-0 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Saint Benedict—September 24, 2016 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Megan Pekarek collected a season- and career-high 55 assists in leading the Blazers to a 3-2 upset of 18^th-ranked Bethel at Robertson Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict—A Year Ago:
• October 2, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Benedict outlasted Saint Mary's 15-13 in the fifth and final set—scoring five of the last six points—in handing the Cardinals a 3-2 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals' busy conference weekend continues on Saturday, as Saint Mary's travels to Moorhead, Minn., for a 3 p.m. match against Concordia
• Saint Benedict: The Blazers are back on their home court at Claire Lynch Hall in St. Joseph, Minn., on Saturday, entertaining St. Olaf in a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Saint Mary's match against St. Thomas last Saturday was the second of back-to-back home matches for the Cardinals, who will play their next 10 matches on the road, before closing out the regular season with four straight home matches—starting Oct. 21 vs. Bethel. … The Cardinals' 3-0 loss to St. Thomas last Saturday 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. … 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 three four-set wins and one five-set victory. … Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.) collected a team- and season-high 11 kills against St. Thomas last Saturday. It was the second time this year the Cardinal senior has posted 10 or more kills. Urban also had 10 kills vs. Nebraska Wesleyan on Sept 10. … Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.) and Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.) chipped in nine and eight kills, respectively, against the Tommies. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) and Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) dished out 16 and 11 assists, respectively, against St. Thomas last Saturday, while Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.) led the team with 14 digs. … The Cardinals had 10 different players record at least one kill in their 3-0 win over Hamline on Sept. 21. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) has led the team in kills in 12 of their 16 matches this season, and heads into this weekend's matches against Saint Benedict and Concordia with a team-best 204 kills (4.08 kps). … Blattner's 204 kills and 4.08 kps are both tops in the conference. … Barth is second on the team in kills with 114 through 16 matches, with Lind third with 95. … 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 the weekend with 267 and 244 assists, respectively. … Hanson also leads the team in aces with 23, one more than Braun and four in front of Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.). … 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. … Hanson equaled her season-high with 29 assists against St. Catherine on Sept. 14, and has recorded 20 or more assists nine times this season—including five of the Cardinals' last six 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 last Saturday's loss to St. Thomas. … The Cardinals boast four players with 100 or more digs this season, led by Thomas with 276—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. … 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 is third on the team with three double-doubles, and Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.) has one. … Blattner and Thomas have been named to the all-tournament team in all three of the Cardinals' regular-season tournaments this season. … 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 Saint Benedict Blazers:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Friday's match against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home matches for the Blazers, who are 1-1 on their home court this season. … With last Saturday's win over Bethel, the Blazers have now won two straight and three of their last four. … The Blazers' victory over No. 18 Bethel was their second 3-2 win of the season—CSB also Emory 3-2 on Sept. 3. … Saint Benedict has now played four matches against nationally ranked teams this season—splitting its two matches with No. 18 Bethel, while beating No. 4 Emory and falling to No. 15 UW-Stevens Point. … Brianna Schmiesing finished with a team-high 13 kills for CSB against Bethel last Saturday, while Cami Hoover (12), Liz Schultz (11), and Ashley Trustheim (10) also finished in double figures. … Megan Pekarek recorded a season- and career-high 55 assists vs. the Royals. … Schultz and Schmiesling have each eclipsed the 100-kill plateau this season, and head into Friday's showdown with Saint Mary's owning 144 and 134 kills, respectively. … Schultz is also hitting a team-best .273. … Pekarek, who leads the MIAC in assists/set (9.51), has accounted for 485 of the team's 590 assists this season. … Pekarek's career-high 55-assist showing against Bethel marked the second time this season she has eclipsed the 50-assist mark—having also recorded 51 against Emory on Sept. 3. … Meghan Koop owns a team-leading 19 services aces, five more than Haley Lavalle. … Saint Benedict has four players with 100 or more digs, led by Lavalle with 236. Meghan Koop is second with 203, followed by Melissa Koops (134) and Pekarek (100). … Saint Benedict has won the opening set in nine of its 14 matches. The Blazers are 7-7 in the second and third sets, but are just 1-5 in the fourth set. CSB holds a 2-1 edge in the fifth set. … Eight of the Blazers' 14 matches have been played on neutral-site courts—CSB is 4-4 in those eight contests.