NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals travel to St. Olaf's Skoglund Center for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Oles.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-3 MIAC * 15-11 Overall) at St. Olaf Oles (6-3 MIAC * 20-9 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Their Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 21, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: St. Thomas never let the Cardinals get things on track, as the Tommies opened with a 25-18 victory and never looked back—adding 25-21 and 25-20 victories in dealing Saint Mary's the 3-0 setback at Schoenecker Arena | Recap
• St. Olaf—October 21, 2017 * Moorhead, Minn.: Lauren Rewers recorded a team-high 14 kills as the Oles rolled to a 3-0 victory over Concordia at Memorial Auditorium | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf—A Year Ago:
• October 5, 2016 * Northfield, Minn.: Fueled by Brandi Blattner's (Eyota, Minn.) 20 kills, Saint Mary's collected its 11^th sweep of the season, rolling to a 3-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win at Skoglund Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals close out the regular-season portion of their schedule on Saturday, heading to Gustavus' Lund Center in St. Peter, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference matchup against the Gusties.
• St. Olaf: The Oles complete their 2017 regular-season schedule on Friday, heading across town to Carleton for a 7 p.m. conference match against the Knights.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Cardinals head into Wednesday's conference showdown with St. Olaf needing one win—and a Bethel loss­—to secure their fifth straight MIAC Playoff appearance. Saint Mary's is currently tied with the Oles and Gustavus for fourth place in the MIAC standings, one game back of Saint Benedict and Augsburg, and one game in front of Bethel with two matches remaining. … Last Friday's 3-1 win over Hamline snapped the Cardinals' season-high four-match losing streak. … Nine of Saint Mary's 15 wins have come during three, season-high three-match winning streaks. … Four of Saint Mary's final eight regular-season opponents are nationally ranked. Saint Mary's dropped 3-0 decisions to No. 7 Northwestern and No. 20 St. Thomas, while falling to No. 9 UW-Whitewater 3-1. The Cardinals will square off against No. 11 Gustavus on Saturday in their regular-season finale. … Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Minn.) led a balanced Saint Mary's offensive attack against Hamline last Friday, recording 11 kills and hitting .500, while Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.) each chipped in 10 kills. A day later against St. Thomas, Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) was the Cardinals' kill leader with nine. … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) and Lillian Braun (Kasson, Minn.) each dished out 22 assists against Hamline last Friday, with Hanson adding double-double No. 9 with 13 assists and 11 digs the following day against St. Thomas. … Clare Tack (St. Charles, Ill.) led the Cardinals in digs in both matches last weekend, posting 22 against Hamline and 12 against St. Thomas. … Braun also picked up her ninth double-double of the season last weekend, adding 10 digs to her 22 assists vs. Hamline. … Brand Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) collected her team-leading 10^th double-double against UW-La Crosse on Oct. 18, leading the team with 11 kills and 19 digs. … Blattner—an AVCA Second-Team All-American a year ago—heads into Wednesday's match against St. Olaf with a team-leading 291 kills, followed by Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn. / 190), Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn. / 152), Wallis (Dresser, Wis. / 139), and Gloria Kitange (Rochester, Minn. / 121). … Kitange and Kedl both posted career highs in kills in the Cardinals' 3-2 win over Central-Iowa on Sept. 2. Kitange led the way with a team-high 16 kills, one more than Kedl. … Hanson and Braun have shared the setting duties all season, with Hanson boasting a team-leading 547 helpers, with Braun close behind with 454. … Hanson posted a season-high 38-assist effort against Lawrence on Sept. 16. … Braun's 31 assists vs. Carleton on Oct. 6 were a career high. … Hanson has posted 20 or more assists in 15 of the Cardinals' 26 matches—including three matches of 30 or more helpers. Braun owns 10 matches of 20 or more assists this season. … Braun leads the team with 37 aces,, four more than Hanson. … Tack boasts a team- and career-best 413 digs, while Hanson (242), Blattner (238), Braun (213), Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn. / 154), and Wallis (122) have also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Tack posted a career-high 38 digs against St. Catherine on Sept. 23 en route to earning MIAC Setter/Libero of the Week honors. … Tack's 38 digs vs. the Wildcats were the most in a match since Theresa Perrini recorded 41 against Augsburg on Oct. 24, 2008. … Cronen notched a career-best 22 digs in Saint Mary's 3-1 win over Wisconsin Lutheran on Sept. 8. … The Cardinals boasted a season-high four players with double-doubles against Carleton on Oct. 6. Blattner led the way with 12 kills and 13 digs, while Braun and Hanson added 31-assist/15-dig and 13-assist/17-dig efforts, and Tack chipped in her first collegiate double-double with 10 assists and a team-high 25 digs. … Blattner leads the team with 10 double-doubles, one more than Braun and two in front of Hanson. … With Wednesday's loss to UW-La Crosse, the Cardinals have played nine, five-set matches this season—beating Carthage, Central-Iowa, No. 8 Washington (Mo.) University, Bethel, St. Catherine, and Carleton, while falling to UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh, and Lawrence. Saint Mary's played just one five-setter a year ago. … The Cardinals' 3-0 loss to No. 7 Northwestern on Oct. 13 marked just the second time this season Saint Mary's has been swept. … The Cardinals' 3-2 loss to UW-La Crosse on Oct. 18 was the final nonconference match, the final regular-season home match, and the final regular-season home match in the collegiate careers of graduating seniors Hanson, Lind, Tack, and Tara Nagy (Oak Lawn, Ill.). … Saint Mary's 3-2 setback against UW-La Crosse on Oct. 18 was just the third loss on their home court for the Cardinals, who enter the final week of the regular-season 7-3 at the Saint Mary's Gym and 7-8 on the road—including 5-3 in neutral-court matches. … The Cardinals picked up their first win in program history against Washington (Mo.) University at the UW-Oshkosh Tournament on Sept. 8, handing the eighth-ranked Bears a 3-2 setback. … With its 3-2 win over Bethel on Sept. 12, Saint Mary's snapped a three-match losing streak vs. the Royals—dating back to a 3-1 win in the opening round of the 2014 MIAC Playoffs. … With their 3-1 showing at the Ripon Red Hawk Classic on Sept. 15-16, the Cardinals have now gone 3-1 in each of their three regular-season tournaments this season. … With their 3-1 performance at the season-opening Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, the Cardinals are now 7-1 in their last two Classic appearances—and 13-3 in their last four. … The Cardinals, who closed out the MIAC regular-season with an 8-3 record a year ago—earning the conference's No. 4 seed in the post-season tournament for the second straight year. … The Cardinals made their fourth straight MIAC Playoff appearance last season, falling to Bethel 3-1 in the opening round. … Saint Mary's 3-0 victory over UW-Stout on Sept. 1 was the first collegiate coaching win for Cardinal head coach Jackie Kiecker.
 
Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Oles head into Wednesday's conference showdown with Saint Mary's tied with the Cardinals and Gustavus for fourth place in the MIAC standings, one game back of Saint Benedict and Augsburg, and one game in front of Bethel with two matches remaining. … St. Olaf, thanks in part to last Saturday's 3-0 win over Concordia, heads into Wednesday's showdown against Saint Mary's having won four of its last five and six of its last eight. … Wednesday's match against Saint Mary's is the final home match for the Oles, who are 7-2 on their home court this season, while going 13-7 away from Skoglund Center. … The Oles enter the final week of the regular-season boasting four players with 180 or more kills, led by Lauren Rewers with 349 and Summer Reid with 310. Megan Grimes owns 287 kills and Alison Currey has 186. … Rewers' 349 kills are not only a team-high but also tops among all in the MIAC, while Reid is currently third in the conference. … Lexi Wall has accounted for 1,123 of the Oles' 1,243 assists this season. … St. Olaf has amassed 154 aces, led by Rewers (35), Haley Langeslag (34), and Angela Fusselman (31). … Langeslag is the team's dig leader with 488, while Reid (282), Wall (214), Rewers (175), and Emily Jarnigan (171) eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Fifteen of St. Olaf's 20 wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps. The Oles also own four four-set wins, and one five-set victory.