RIPON, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team is back on the road this weekend, traveling to Ripon to take part in the two-day Ripon Red Hawk Invitational.
 
The Ripon Red Hawk Invitational Schedule:
Friday, September 15, 2017 * Court 1
• Ripon vs. Marian, 3:00 | Lawrence vs. Carroll, 5:00 | Ripon vs. Carroll, 7:00
Friday, September 15, 2017 * Court 2
• MSOE vs. Lawrence, 3:00 | Marian vs. Saint Mary's, 5:00 | MSOE vs. Saint Mary's, 7:00
Saturday, September 16, 2017 * Court 1
• Ripon vs. MSOE, 10:00 | Saint Mary's vs. Lawrence, Noon | Ripon vs. Saint Mary's, 2:00
Saturday, September 16, 2017 * Court 2
• Lawrence vs. Marian, 10:00 | Carroll vs. Marian, Noon | Carroll vs. MSOE, 2:00
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Tournament Homepage
 
Cardinals' Last Action:
• September 12, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals kicked off the conference season in style, outlasting Bethel 3-2 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's at Ripon Red Hawk Invitational—Their Last Appearance:
• September 16-17, 2016 * Ripon, Wis.: The Cardinals picked up their third straight tournament sweep at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational, opening with a 3-0 win over Alverno, before adding 3-1 victories against University of Dubuque, Lawrence, and Ripon | Day 1 Recap * Day 2 Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Ripon Red Hawk Opponents—Their Last Meeting:
• vs. Marian—September 13, 2013 * Chicago, Ill.: The Cardinals made it look easy in their North Park Viking Clash opener against Marian, cruising to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-16) victory | Recap
• vs. Milwaukee School of Engineering—September 19, 2014 * Ripon, Wis.: Saint Mary's put an end to their four-match losing streak in convincing fashion, as the Cardinals cruised to a 3-1 victory over Milwaukee School of Engineering during the opening day of the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational | Recap
• vs. Lawrence—September 17, 2016 * Ripon, Wis.: The Cardinals picked up their eighth straight win, kicking off the second day of the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational with a 3-1 win over Lawrence | Recap
• vs. Ripon—September 17, 2016 * Ripon, Wis.: The Cardinals locked up their third straight 4-0 regular-season tournament sweep—and extended their winning streak to nine straight—with a 3-1 win over Ripon at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational | Recap
 
Cardinals Up Next:
• The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, traveling to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Auggies.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Saint Mary's enters this weekend's Ripon Red Hawk Invitational owning a 7-3 overall record. … Last Tuesday's match against Bethel was 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. … Saint Mary's 3-2 win over Bethel Tuesday snapped the Cardinals' 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 victory over Bethel Tuesday, the Cardinals have now played five, five-set matches this season—beating Carthage, Central-Iowa, No. 8 Washington (Mo.) University, and Bethel, while falling to UW-Oshkosh. … The Cardinals boasted four players with 10 or more kills in Tuesday's win over Bethel, led by Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) with 15. Gloria Kitange (Rochester, Minn.) chipped in 13 kills, with Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) and Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.) each finishing with 10. … Blattner and Lillian Braun (Kasson, Minn.) each picked up their team-leading fourth double-double of the season vs. the Royals. Blattner—who recorded a team-best 13 double-doubles last season—added 15 digs to her 15 kills, while Braun posted team highs in assists (27) and digs (20). … Blattner—an AVCA Second-Team All-American a year ago—heads into this weekend's Ripon Red Hawk Invitational with a team-leading 109 kills, followed by Kitange (84), Wallis (67), and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn. / 65). … 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. … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) and Braun have shared the setting duties all season, with Hanson boasting a team-leading 211 helpers, with Braun close behind with 180. … 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. … With her 27 assists against Bethel Tuesday, Braun has now recorded 20 or more assists four times this season—including a career-best 29 assists in Saint Mary's 3-1 win over Wisconsin Lutheran on Sept. 8. … Braun owns a team-leading 14 service aces, one more than Hanson and Clare Tack (St. Charles, Ill.) and four in front of Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn.). … Tack owns a team-best 127 digs, while Braun (92), Blattner (90), and Hanson (85) have also recorded 80 or more digs through 10 matches. … 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. … 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. … Six of the Cardinals' seven wins this season have come via a pair of three-match winning streaks. … 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 Marian Sabres:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Sabres enter the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational with a 3-2 overall record, including back-to-back wins over Illinois Tech (3-0) and MSOE (3-1) in their last two matches. … Following this weekend's four matches at Ripon, Marian plays its next five matches on its home court. … Jamie Schrauth and Cheyenne Henson lead the Sabres offense with 47 and 42 kills, respectively. … Kaitlyn Kelley, who is third on the team with 32 kills, boasts a team-best .303 attack percentage. … Amber Baker is the team's assist leader with 141 (7.42 aps). … Marian has served up 48 aces, led by Schrauth with 12, Henson with nine, and Amber Yahr with eight. … Jenna Skoski has recorded a team-leading 61 digs through five matches and leads six players with 20 or more digs. Henson (42), Baker (39), Yahr (37), Schrauth (34), and Natalie Orre (22) are the others. … Two of Marian's three wins have been by 3-1 scores, while the other was a 3-0 sweep of Illinois Tech. Both Sabre losses were 3-1 decisions—falling to Lawrence on Sept. 6 and North Park on Sept. 8.
 
Scouting The Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Raiders head into this weekend's action at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational sitting at 5-5 through 10 matches—including a 3-1 loss to Marian on Wednesday. … The Raiders are in the midst of an 11-match road swing. MSOE—which is 2-3 at home this season—does not return to the Kern Center in Milwaukee, Wis., until an Oct. 6 date against Rockford. … Rachel Lynde has been the Raiders' offensive leader, compiling a team-leading 104 kills, while hitting .186Megan Brock is second on the team with 43 kills, followed by Elsey Kohlmann (34), Holly Denfeld (30), and Heather Dukat (30). … MSOE boasts a pair of setters with 100 or more assists through 10 matches—Abby Born has dished out a team-high 193 helpers, while Allie Laurent has chipped in 100. … Born, Kaylie Butt, and Aleah Quast all share the team lead with eight service aces, one more than Lynde, and two in front of Shelby Borchardt and Lauarent. … Quast owns a team-high 140 digs. She is one of seven Raiders with 70 or more digs this season. … MSOE owns one 3-0 victory this season—sweeping Illinois Tech on Sept. 9—while adding a pair of 3-1 wins and one 3-2 triumph. On the flip side, the Raiders have lost a pair of 3-0 decisions and three matches decided in four sets.
 
Scouting The Lawrence Vikings:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Vikings enter tournament play this weekend with a 3-8 overall record. … After opening the season 3-2, the Vikings have dropped each of their last six matches—including their last three by 3-0 counts. … Aarianna Neumeyer has been the team's offensive leader, amassing a team-high 122 kills. Rachel Barthel is second on the team with 84, while Rachael Wuensch has chipped in 63. … Sydney Nelson and Lauren Ray have shared the setting duties, with Nelson compiling a team-best 193 assists, with Ray close behind with 144. … Lawrence boasts four players—Neumeyer (15), Barthel (14), Wuensch (13), and Ray (12)—with 10 or more service aces. … Cyra Bammer has recorded a team-leading 243 digs, while Neumeyer has also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau, sitting at 138. … Lawrence has had three matches go the maximum five sets, with the Vikings going 1-2 in those three contests. Lawrence beat Howard Payne 3-2, while falling to McMurry and Martin Luther. … 
 
Scouting The Ripon Red Hawks:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The host Red Hawks head into the weekend sporting a 2-7 overall record—including losses in each of their last two matches. … After opening the season with a 3-1 win over Central-Iowa on Sept. 1, the Red Hawks dropped five straight, before a 3-0 victory over Lakeland on Sept. 8. Ripon followed that win up with back-to-back losses to Edgewood (3-1) and Bethel (3-0). Ripon boasts three players—Jonalee Elliott (55), Aubreigh Zimmerman (51), and Emily Allard (50)—with 50 or more kills through nine matches. … Allard has collected a team-best 138 assists, with Olivia Heck chipping in 71. … Ripon has posted 36 service aces this season, led by Micaela Encarnacion with 10, and Allard and Brianna Rizzuto with seven each. … Stacie Kilka, Micaela Encarnacion, and Kendra Holte have all eclipsed the 100-dig mark. Kilka owns a team-high 159 digs, followed by Encarnacion with 125 and Holte with 107. … Five of Ripon's seven losses have been 3-0 sweeps, with the other two being decided in four sets. The Red Hawks own one 3-0 win and one that went the maximum five sets.