ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team gets its first road test of the season this weekend, squaring off against Luther, Central-Iowa, Crown, and Nebraska Wesleyan as part of the St. Catherine Invitational.
 
The St. Catherine Invitational Field:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-1 Overall), St. Catherine Wildcats (2-2 Overall), Luther Norse (2-3 Overall), Central-Iowa Dutch (1-3 Overall), Crown Storm (0-5 Overall), Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves (3-1 Overall),
 
The St. Catherine Invitational Schedule:
Friday, September 9, 2016 * Court 1 * Live Stats
• Hamline vs. Crown, 2:00 | St. Catherine vs. Marian, 4:00 | Saint Mary's vs. Central-Iowa, 6:00 | St. Catherine vs. Nebraska Wesleyan, 8:00
Friday, September 9, 2016 * Court 2 * Live Stats
• Saint Mary's vs. Luther, 2:00 | Luther vs. Crown, 4:00 | Marian vs. Nebraska Wesleyan, 6:00 | Hamline vs. Central-Iowa, 8:00
Saturday, September 10, 2016 * Court 1 * Live Stats
• Saint Mary's vs. Crown, 9:00 | Marian vs. Central-Iowa, 11:00 | St. Catherine vs. Central-Iowa, 1:00 | St. Catherine vs. Crown, 3:00
Saturday, September 10, 2016 * Court 2 * Live Stats
• Luther vs. Marian, 9:00 | Saint Mary's vs. Nebraska Wesleyan, 11:00 | Hamline vs. Nebraska Wesleyan, 1:00 | Hamline vs. Luther, 3:00
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats: Court 1 * Court 2 | Video Preview | Tournament Homepage
 
Cardinals' Last Action:
• September 7, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: After four straight 3-0 victories at the season-opening Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, the Cardinals suffered their first loss of the season Wednesday, falling to UW-Eau Claire 3-1 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine Invitational Opponents—Their Last Meeting:
• vs. Luther * September 3, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals and Norse have already faced once this season, squaring off at last weekend's Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic. Saint Mary's got 11 kills from Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.), as the Cardinals completed a perfect 4-0 run at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic with a 3-0 sweep of Luther | Recap
• vs. Central-Iowa * October 4, 2013 * Winona, Minn.: Just days after rallying from behind in two of the three sets of their 3-0 MIAC victory over Carleton, the Cardinals were in a rallying mood again in their opening match of the Cardinal Invitational against Central-Iowa. The Cardinals, who fell 25-20 in the opening set, used that loss as a wake-up call, rattling off three convincing wins to beat the Dutch 3-1 in the Gostomski Fieldhouse | Recap
• vs. Crown * October 6, 2010 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals cruised to their seventh straight win with a 3-0 nonconference win over Crown in the first of two matches at the Northwestern Triangular. Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) led the way for the Cardinals against Crown, collecting a match-high 15 kills, while hitting .636 | Recap
• vs. Nebraska Wesleyan * September 1, 2012 * Winona, Minn.: It was smooth sailing for Saint Mary's during the opening day of the two-day Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic. The water was a bit more choppy in Day 2, however, as the Cardinals—coming off back-to-back 3-0 wins over Edgewood and Simpson—suffered their first loss of the season, falling to Nebraska-Wesleyan 3-1 at the Gostomski Fieldhouse | Recap
 
Cardinals Up Next:
• The Cardinals are right back on the road—and right back at St. Catherine's Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn.—as Saint Mary's kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a 7 p.m. showdown against the Wildcats.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Wednesday's 3-1 loss to UW-Eau Claire snapped the Cardinals' season-opening four-match winning streak. … Saint Mary's 4-0 run through the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic was the Cardinals' best start to a season since 2008, when they opened 7-0. … 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. … With their 4-0 showing last weekend, the Cardinals are off to their best start since 2008, when Saint Mary's opened 7-0. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) collected her second collegiate volleyball double-double against UW-Eau Claire Wednesday, finishing with 15 kills and 15 digs. 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 all five of their matches this season, and heads into this weekend's St. Catherine Invitational with a team-best 62 kills, while also hitting a team-leading .278. … Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.) chipped in a season-high 10 kills against UW-Eau Claire Wednesday. … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa), who dished out a team-best 24 assists vs. the Blugolds Wednesday, heads into the weekend with a team-leading 77 helpers through five matches. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) is second to Hanson in assists with 62, while Maddie Hess (Lewiston, Minn.) has 26 assists. … Hanson, Hess, and Braun all share the team lead with seven aces, one more than Morgan Thomas (Palos Park, Ill.). … Five of Braun's seven aces came against Carroll—it was the most aces in a single match since Hanson recorded six aces against Loras on Sept. 11, 2015. … The Cardinals boast five players with 20 or more digs this season, led by Thomas with 63. … Blattner and Thomas were both named to the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic All-Tournament Team. … Wednesday's match against UW-Eau Claire was the fifth straight home match for the Cardinals, who play their next nine matches on the road—not returning home until Sept. 21, when they host Hamline in the teams' conference opener.
 
Scouting The Luther Norse:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• After opening the season with back-to-back wins to kick off the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, the Norse head into this weekend in the midst of a three-match losing streak—including a 3-2 loss to UW-La Crosse in their home opener on Wednesday. … The Norse head into this weekend's St. Catherine Invitational boasting a balanced offensive attack, including five players with 25 or more kills. Anna Larson is the team's kill leader with 47, seven more than Jamie Sindlinger, while Lexie Erickson (38), Emma Veum (31), and Katie Shabatura (27) have also eclipsed the 25-kill plateau. … Sam Sixta has been the workhorse at setter for Luther, accounting for 149 of the team's 181 assists through five matches. … Taylor Gaide is the team-leader with nine service aces—two more than Sixta—while also leading the team in digs with 83. … Wednesday's loss to UW-La Crosse was the first five-set match of the season for the Norse, who are 1-1 in three-set matches and 1-1 in four-setters.
 
Scouting The Central-Iowa Dutch:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Dutch are coming off a 1-3 showing at the North Country Season Opener in Potsdam, N.Y., last weekend. Central opened with losses to Roger Williams (R.I.) (3-1), Clarkson (3-0), SUNY-Brockport (3-2), before closing tournament play with a 3-2 win over SUNY-Oneonta. … Kylie Gerstein led the way for the Dutch at the North Country tourney, collecting a team-high 45 kills, while hitting .240. … Jenna Dille (31) and Melissa Miller (27) also recorded more than 20 kills in Central's four season-opening matches. … Chapel Carter accounted for 111 of the team's 144 assists in four tournament matches, while Dille and Nicole Ewoldt shared the team lead with six service aces each. … Ewoldt posted 88 digs last weekend, and was one of four Dutch players with 20 or more digs. … Central is coming off a 15-18 season a year ago, including a 1-6 mark in IIAC play—which kept the Dutch out of the conference tournament for the first time in program history.
 
Scouting The Crown Storm:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Storm head into tournament play this weekend still searching for their first win of the season, having dropped all four matches at the St. Olaf Tournament last weekend, while also falling to Hamline 3-0 on Tuesday. … Saturday's match against Saint Mary's will be the fifth of nine matches against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Crown has already played Carleton, St. Olaf and Hamline, and still have Hamline, Saint Mary's (twice), St. Catherine (twice), and Macalester. … Katie Hinkle and Christine Anderson have been the offensive leaders for the Storm, recording 25 and 22 kills, respectively. … Kelsey Roschen has accounted for 96 of the team's 114 assists, while Alayna Kohler (6) and Taylor Urcuyo (5) have served up 11 of Crown's 21 aces. … Urcuyo is also the team's digs leader with 66, following by Miranda Brueggeman with 46, Kohler with 23, and Roschen with 22. … Tuesday's loss to St. Olaf marked the fourth time in five matches that the Storm have been swept in three sets. Crown's other loss was a 3-1 decision to Bethany Lutheran. … Crown finished 6-21 a year ago, including a 1-8 showing in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC).
 
Scouting The Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Prairie Wolves enter tournament play this weekend on the heels of a 3-1 showing at the Bethel Tournament last weekend. Nebraska Wesleyan split its first two matches—beating Willamette 3-0 and falling to No. 12 Bethel 3-1, before adding 3-2 and 3-0 wins over Wheaton (Ill.) and UW-Superior, respectively. … Nebraska Wesleyan boasted five players with 20 of more kills in their four tournament matches last weekend, led by Malory Dahl with 52 and Kieraa Harder with 40. … Taylor Crandall dished out 170 assists, while also accounting for 11 of the team's 32 service aces. … Kennedy Hegert collected a team-high 87 digs, while Dahl and Crandall each had 43, and Lizzie Saale chipped in 30. … The Prairie Wolves will play their first 13 matches on the road this season, finally kicking off the home portion of their schedule on Sept. 27 against Buena Vista. … Nebraska Wesleyan finished 9-19 a year ago, including 3-13 in its final season in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. NWU joined the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) this season. … The Prairie Wolves have made 12 appearances in the NCAA III Tournament, most recently in the 2014 season.