ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to St. Catherine's Butler Center for a 3 p.m. showdown against the Wildcats.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1 MIAC * 10-5 Overall) at St. Catherine Wildcats (0-2 MIAC * 6-7 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Their Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 20, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Cardinals suffered their first conference loss, dropping the third and fourth sets in falling to Augsburg 3-1 at Si Melby Hall | Recap
• St. Catherine—September 20, 2017 * Arden Hills, Minn.: The Wildcats saw their MIAC record slip to 0-2, dropping both the third and fourth sets in losing a 3-1 decision to Bethel at Robertson Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine—A Year Ago:
• September 14, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: Saint Mary's rallied from a seven-point, 24-17 deficit to win the opening set 26-24—but from there, the Cardinals made quick work of the host Wildcats, winning the second set 25-17 and the third 25-18 to complete the 3-0, conference-opening sweep at Butler Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off until next Friday, when they entertain Saint Benedict in a 7 p.m. conference showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• St. Catherine: The Wildcats are back in action on Wednesday, entertaining Augsburg in a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup at Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Saturday's match against St. Catherine is the sixth straight road contest for the Cardinals, who are 6-4 on the road this season. … Despite Wednesday's loss to Augsburg, the Cardinals enter Saturday's match against St. Catherine having won four of their last six contests. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) recorded a team-high 15 kills in the Cardinals' loss to Augsburg Wednesday. Blattner has now posted 10 or more kills in three straight matches—and 10 times this season. … Blattner—an AVCA Second-Team All-American a year ago—heads into Saturday's match at St. Catherine with a team-leading 165 kills, followed by Gloria Kitange (Rochester, Minn. / 121), and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn. / 99). … 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. … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) recorded her third double-double in the team's last four matches against the Auggies Wednesday, finishing with 21 assists and 18 digs. … Hanson is now tied with Lillian Braun (Kasson, Minn.) for second on the team with five double-doubles, one back of Blattner. … Hanson has now posted 20 or more assists in 11 of the Cardinals' 15 matches—including three matches of 30 or more helpers. … Hanson and Braun have shared the setting duties all season, with Hanson boasting a team-leading 347 helpers, with Braun close behind with 250. … Hanson posted a season-high 38-assist effort against Lawrence on Sept. 16. … 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 and Hanson share the team lead in aces with 19 each, two more than Clare Tack (St. Charles, Ill.). … Tack boasts a team-best 220 digs, while Hanson (141), Blattner (132), Braun (121), and Carley  Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn. / 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. … 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. … The Cardinals have 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. Saint Mary's played just one five-setter a year ago. … 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 St. Catherine Wildcats:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
•  Saturday's match against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home matches for the Wildcats, who have played just two of their first 13 matches at Butler Center—beating Martin Luther (3-0) and falling to Saint Benedict (3-1). … With Wednesday's 3-1 loss to Bethel, the Wildcats slipped to 3-3 in their last six matches. … Mackenzie Peper heads into Saturday's showdown with Saint Mary's boasting a team-leading 118 kills. Libby Kreuser is seven kills shy of the 100-kill plateau, while Emily Carman's 69 kills are third-most on the team. … Meagan Schwarzrock and Johna Radke have shared the setting duties for the Wildcats, with Schwarzrock leading the team with 226 assists, followed by Radke with 162. … SCU has recorded 106 service aces through 13 matches, led by Kelly Breuer with 26. Schwarzrock (18), Larissa Kisch (16), and Kreuser (14) have also served up 10 or more aces this season. … Kisch is the Wildcats' dig leader with 168, followed by Schwarzrock (121) and Baker (103). … Three of the Wildcats' six wins have by 3-1 victories. SCU also owns a pair of 3-0 sweeps and was victorious in their only five-set match—a 3-2 win over Occidental on Sept. 16.