WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Tuesday, entertaining Bethel in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC * 6-3 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (0-0 MIAC * 7-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Their Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 8-9, 2017 * Oshkosh, Wis.: The Cardinals completed their second 3-1 tournament showing of the season, picking up wins over No. 8 Washington (Mo.) University, Wisconsin Lutheran, and Benedictine, before falling to host UW-Oshkosh at the UW-Oshkosh Tournament | Day 1 Recap * Day 2 Recap
• Bethel—September 8-9, 2017 * Stevens Point, Wis.: The Royals suffered their first loss of the season, falling to host UW-Stevens Point 3-0 during Day 1 of the Pointer Invitational. BU rebounded with 3-0 wins over Lakeland and Ripon the following day | Day 1 Recap * Day 2 Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• October 21, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: With four conference matches remaining in the regular season, Saint Mary's began its playoff push against Bethel. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Royals decided to push back—hard. After dropping the opening set, Bethel rattled off three straight set wins in handing the Cardinals a 3-1 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• November 1, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: When Saint Mary's and Bethel squared off in the opening round of the MIAC Playoffs, it marked the second time in two weeks the Cardinals and Royals have clashed. And, unfortunately for the Cardinals, the end result was the same, as Bethel posted its second 3-1 win in as many meetings between the two teams at the Saint Mary's Gym, putting an end to Saint Mary's playoff run | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals head to Ripon, Wis., this weekend, taking part in the two-day Ripon Red Hawk Invitational.
• Bethel: The Royals head to Menomonie, Wis., on Friday for a 7 p.m. nonconference match against UW-Stout.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Tuesday's match against Bethel is the conference-opener for 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 picked up their first win in program history against Washington (Mo.) University last weekend at the UW-Oshkosh Tournament, handing the eighth-ranked Bears a 3-2 setback. … The 3-2 win over WashU moved the Cardinals to 4-0 in five-set matches, a streak that came to an end in the final match of the UW-Oshkosh Tournament, when Saint Mary's fell to the host Titans 3-2. … With their 3-1 showing at the UW-Oshkosh Tournament, Saint Mary's has now gone 3-1 in each of its first two regular-season tournaments this season, having also achieved that feat at the season-opening Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic. … The Cardinals' six wins this season have come via a pair of three-match winning streaks. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.)—a Second-Team AVCA All-American a year ago—finished with a team-high 45 kills in the Cardinals' four matches at the UW-Oshkosh Tournament last weekend. … Saint Mary's finished with six players with 20 or more kills at the UW-Oshkosh Tournament. Along with Blattner's 45, the Cardinals also got 32 from Gloria Kitange (Rochester, Minn.), 29 from Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.), 26 from Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.), 25 from Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.), and 23 from Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.). … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) and Lillian Braun (Kasson, Minn.) dished out 83 and 74 assists, respectively in Saint Mary's four UW-Oshkosh Tournament matches. … Braun also picked up her first three double-doubles of the season—posting 20 assists and 16 digs vs. WashU, 29 assists and 12 digs vs. Wisconsin Lutheran, and 21 assists and 15 digs vs. UW-Oshkosh. … Braun now shares the team lead in double-doubles with Blattner, who owned a team-leading 13 double-doubles a year ago. … Blattner heads into the Cardinals' conference opener with a team-leading 94 kills, with Kitange second with 71 and Kedl close behind with 63. … Kitange and Rachel 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 191 helpers, with Braun close behind with 153. … Hanson collected a season-high 36 assists in the Cardinals 3-1 win over Benedictine on Sept. 8. She also added 16 digs for her first double-double of the year. … Braun, meanwhile, posted a career-best 29 assists in Saint Mary's 3-1 win over Wisconsin Lutheran on Sept. 8. … Hanson and Clare Tack (St. Charles, Ill.) lead the team with 12 service aces each, one more than Braun and two in front of Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn.). … Tack owns a team-best 110 digs, while Hanson (77), Blattner (75), and Braun (72) have also recorded 70 or more digs through nine matches. … Cronen notched a career-best 22 digs in Saint Mary's 3-1 win over Wisconsin Lutheran on Sept. 8. … With their 3-1 showing 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.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Royals head into Tuesday's showdown against Saint Mary's have won seven of their first eight matches—the lone blemish, a 3-0 setback to UW-Stevens Point last Friday at the Pointer Invitational. … Tuesday's match at Saint Mary's is the ninth of 10 straight road matches for the Royals, who open their home schedule on Sept. 20 against St. Catherine. … Kristin Stern enters Tuesday's match as the Royals' offensive leader, boasting a team-high 103 kills, while also hitting .404. … Stern is one of five BU players with 45 of more kills through eight matches—Tina Hoppe (66), Brooke Olstad (57), Macie Gavic (48), and Maria Claflin (46) are the others. … Mikayla Morrow has accounted for 214 of the team's 322 assists, and has also chipped in eight service aces and 51 digs. … Rylee Forshee has amassed a team-best 11 aces, two more than Olstad, while Dominique is the team's dig leader with 120. … BU boasts five players with 10 or more blocks, led by Stern with 18 and Claflin with 15. … Three of Bethel's seven wins have been 3-0 sweeps. The Royals also own three, 3-1 victories as well a five-set victory over UM-Morris.