MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals head to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall for a 7 p.m. showdown against the Auggies.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 MIAC * 10-4 Overall) at Augsburg Auggies (0-1 MIAC * 9-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Their Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 15-16, 2017 * Ripon, Wis.: The Cardinals put together a 3-1 record at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational last weekend, beating Marian (3-1), Milwaukee School of Engineering (3-1) and host Ripon (3-0), while falling to Lawrence 3-2 | Ripon Recap 1 * Ripon Recap 2
• Augsburg——September 15-16, 2017 * Waverly, Iowa: The Auggies are coming off a 2-1 showing at the Wartburg Tournament, opening with a 3-2 loss to host Wartburg, before rebounding with 3-1 wins over Waldorf and Buena Vista the following day | Wartburg Recap 1 * Wartburg Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg—A Year Ago:
• October 12, 2016 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Auggies jumped out to a quick, 2-0 lead and never looked back, making the Cardinals conference victim No. 7 in a row with a 3-1 victory at Si Melby Hall | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Saturday, traveling to St. Catherine's Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference matchup against the Wildcats.
• Augsburg: The Auggies hit the road on Saturday, traveling to Concordia's Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn., for a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown with the Cobbers.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Wednesday's match against Augsburg is the fifth of six straight road games for the Cardinals, who are 6-3 on the road this season. … With their 3-1 showing at the Ripon Red Hawk Classic last weekend, the Cardinals have now gone 3-1 in each of their three regular-season tournaments this season. … With its 3-2 win over Bethel last Tuesday, 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 victory over Bethel last Tuesday and loss to Lawrence last Saturday, the Cardinals have now played six, five-set matches this season—beating Carthage, Central-Iowa, No. 8 Washington (Mo.) University, and Bethel, while falling to UW-Oshkosh and Lawrence. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) finished with a team-high 41 kills in the Cardinals' four matches at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational. Gloria Kitange (Rochester, Minn.) added 32 kills, while Sara Lind (Peterson, Minn.) finished with 27, and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) and Erin Lime () finished with 26 each. … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) dished out a team-leading 115 assists in four tournament matches last weekend, with Lillian Braun (Kasson, Minn.) chipping in 56. … Hanson posted a season-high 38-assist effort against Lawrence last Saturday. … Clare Tack (St. Charles, Ill.) owned a team-best 72 digs at the Ripon Invitational, followed by Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn.) with 41, Hanson with 38, and Blattner with 35. … Braun and Hanson each recorded five service aces lasts weekend, one more than Tack and Haley Nisbit (Utica, Minn.). … Blattner—an AVCA Second-Team All-American a year ago—heads into Wednesday's match against Augsburg with a team-leading 150 kills, followed by Kitange (116), Kedl (91), Lind (76), and Linnaea Wallis (67). … 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 326 helpers, with Braun close behind with 236. … Hanson has posted 20 or more assists in 10 of the Cardinals' 14 matches—including three matches of 30 or more helpers. … With her 27 assists against Bethel on Sept. 12, Braun has now recorded 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. … Braun owns a team-leading 19 service aces, one more than Hanson and two in front of Tack (St. Charles, Ill.). … Tack boasts a team-best 199 digs, while Blattner (125), Hanson (123), Braun (117), and Cronen (114) 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. … Hanson collected a pair of double-doubles at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational, posting 22 assists and 14 digs against MSOE, while adding 38 assists and 10 digs against Lawrence. … Blattner—who recorded a team-best 13 double-doubles last season—leads the team with five double-doubles this season, one more than Braun and two more than Hanson. … 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. … 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 3-1 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. … 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 Augsburg Auggies:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Auggies enter Wednesday's matchup with Saint Mary's having won two straight and five of their last seven. … Augsburg has put together winning streaks of four, three, and two matches this season. On the flip side, the Auggies have lost back-to-back matches just once—falling to St. Olaf and Wartburg, both by 3-2 scores. … Augsburg boasts three players—Taylor Linn (141), Corrina Evans (126), and Jordan Weeding (110)—who have amassed more than 100 kills this season. … Linn was named Sports Imports/AVCA Division III National Player of the Week on Sept. 12, after amassing 53 kills and seven blocks in four matches at the Augsburg Tournament. It marked the first time that an Augsburg player has ever earned AVCA Division III National Player of the Week honors. … Linn is also hitting a team-best .332, percentage points ahead of Evans (.327). … Morgan Malley has accounted for 494 of the team's 579 assists this season, while sitting second on the team with 12 aces, two back of team-leader Jordan Weeding. … Macey Terhell is the team's dig leader with 258, with Linn (147) and Malley (123) also eclipsing the 100-dig plateau. … Evans has posted a team-best 34 blocks, seven more than Linn. … Five of the Auggies' nine wins have come in three-set sweeps. Augsburg is also unbeaten in four-set matches, going 3-0, while owning a 1-2 record in matches that are stretched to a fifth set. … The Auggies are 3-1 on their home court, while going 6-2 on the road—including 4-0 in neutral-site contests.