WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals welcome Carleton to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. matchup.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-2 MIAC * 12-6 Overall) vs. Carleton Knights (2-3 MIAC * 5-9 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Their Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 30, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals bounced back from a 3-0 loss to Saint Benedict the previous evening with a convincing 3-0 MIAC win over Concordia at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Carleton—October 4, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: The Knights rebounded from a 3-0 nonconference loss to seventh-ranked Northwestern with a convincing 3-0 victory over Macalester in a conference showdown at West Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton—A Year Ago:
• October 26, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals found themselves playing catch-up in both the third and fourth sets of their conference match against Carleton at the Saint Mary's Gym. And in both sets, Saint Mary's not only caught up—but also surpassed—the Knights en route to a 3-1 victory. A victory that not only improved the Cardinals to 7-3 in conference play—but also clinched an MIAC Playoff berth for a fourth consecutive year | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on their home court at the Saint Mary's Gym on Wednesday, as they entertain Macalester in a 7 p.m. matchup.
• Carleton: The Knights return home to West Gym in Northfield, Minn., on Wednesday, playing host to Hamline in a 7 p.m. MIAC showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Friday's match against Carleton is the third of four straight home matches for the Cardinals. … Last Friday's 3-0 loss to Saint Benedict was just the Cardinals' second loss on their home court. Saint Mary's owns a 5-1 record at home, while going 7-4 away from the Saint Mary's Gym—including 5-1 in neutral-court matches. … With their split last weekend—falling to Saint Benedict and beating Concordia—the Cardinals head into Friday's showdown with Carleton having won six of their last nine matches. … Saint Mary's has put together three, three-match winning streaks this season. On the flip side, the Cardinals have yet to drop back-to-back matches. … With their 3-2 win over St. Catherine on Sept. 23, the Cardinals have played seven, five-set matches this season—beating Carthage, Central-Iowa, No. 8 Washington (Mo.) University, Bethel, and St. Catherine, while falling to UW-Oshkosh and Lawrence. Saint Mary's played just one five-setter a year ago. … The Cardinals' 3-0 loss to Saint Benedict last Friday marked just the second time this season Saint Mary's has been swept. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) led the team in kills in both matches last weekend, notching 13 kills against Saint Benedict and 14 against Concordia. … Blattner posted her team-leading eighth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 10 digs, while missing a ninth double-double by one dig against Concordia. … Blattner—who recorded 13 double-doubles a year ago—has now posted 10 or more kills in six straight matches and 13 times this season. … Blattner was one of three Cardinals to record double-doubles against St. Catherine on Sept. 23—Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) and Lillian Braun (Kasson, Minn.) posted 26 assists/13 digs and 23 assists/14 digs, respectively. … The double-doubles were the sixth of the season for both Hanson and Braun. … Hanson, who posted 23 assists against Saint Benedict last Friday and 21 against Concordia the following day, has now posted 20 or more assists in 13 of the Cardinals' 18 matches—including three matches of 30 or more helpers. … With her 23 assists against St. Catherine on Sept. 23, Braun has delivered 20 or more assists five times this season—including a career-best 29 assists in Saint Mary's 3-1 win over Wisconsin Lutheran on Sept. 8. … Clare Tack (St. Charles, Ill.) 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. … Blattner—an AVCA Second-Team All-American a year ago—heads into Friday's match against Carleton with a team-leading 210 kills, followed by Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn. / 128) 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 417 helpers, with Braun close behind with 308. … Hanson posted a season-high 38-assist effort against Lawrence on Sept. 16. …  Braun leads the team in aces with 21, one more than Braun and two in front of Tack. … Tack boasts a team- and career-best 296 digs, while Blattner (170), Hanson (165), Braun (143), and Carley  Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn. / 122) have also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Cronen notched a career-best 22 digs in Saint Mary's 3-1 win over Wisconsin Lutheran on Sept. 8. … 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. … 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.
 
Scouting The Carleton Knights:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Carleton's win over Macalester on Wednesday snapped the Knight's two-match losing streak. Carleton enters its showdown with Saint Mary's having dropped nine of its last 12 matches. … The Knights' last seven matches have all been decided in three sets—Carleton swept UW-Superior, Concordia, and Macalester, while falling to Gustavus, St. Thomas, Saint Benedict, and Northwestern. … Three of Carleton's last six matches have been against nationally ranked teams—#10 Gustavus, #21 St. Thomas, and #7 Northwestern. … Lucy Stevens and Faith Skinner finished with 14 and 12 kills, respectively against Macalester Wednesday, while Lauren Pak delivered a match-best 38 assists and Katie Tritschler chipped in 22 digs. … With her 14 kills vs. Macalester, Stevens pushed her team-leading total to 128 through 14 matches. … Stevens is one of three Knights with 100 or more kills this season—Skinner and Abby Loe each come into Friday's matchup with 108. … Pak has accounted for 408 of the team's 497 assists, and is also tied for second on the team with 11 service aces. … Anna Flitner is the team's ace leader (19), while Loe is also sitting with 11. … Carleton boasts four players with 100 or more digs, led by Tritschler with 193. Loe (133), Flitner (133), and Celeste Chen (101) are the other three. … Four of Carleton's five wins this season have come in three sets—the lone exception, a 3-1 win over UW-River Falls on Sept. 2. On the flip side, six of the Knights' nine losses have been three-setters. … Carleton is 0-3 in five-set matches—falling to Valley City, Lake Forest and UW-River Falls by 3-2 counts. … Carleton is 4-2 on hits home court this season, while going 0-5 on the road and 1-2 in neutral-court matches.