DECORAH, Iowa — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team hits the road for the first time this season on Wednesday, traveling to Luther for a 7 p.m. nonconference match against the Norse.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-1 Overall) at Luther Norse (2-2 Overall)
 
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Their Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 1-2, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals bounced back from a season-opening 3-0 loss to UM-Morris by rattling off three straight wins over UW-Stout, Carthage, and Central-Iowa to finish 3-1 at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic | Morris Recap * Stout Recap * Carthage Recap * Central Recap
• Luther—September 1-2, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Norse finished 2-2 at the Saint Mary's Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic last weekend, beating Ripon (3-0) and UM-Morris (3-1), while falling to the University of Chicago (3-2) and Carthage (3-1) | Chicago Recap * Ripon Recap * Carthage Recap * UM-Morris Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Luther—A Year Ago:
• September 3, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals completed a perfect run through the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, getting a match-high 11 kills from Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) in making Luther their fourth straight 3-0 victim | Recap
• September 9, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals got a team-high nine kills from Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and 14 assists from Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) en route to their second 3-0 win over the Norse this season—this time in the opening match of the St. Catherine Invitational | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals head to Oshkosh, Wis., this weekend, taking part in the two-day UW-Oshkosh Invitational. Saint Mary's will face Washington (Mo.) University at 3:30 p.m. and Wisconsin Lutheran at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, before squaring off against Benedictine at 9:30 a.m. and host UW-Oshkosh at 11:30 a.m. the following day.
• Luther: The Norse head to Whitewater, Wis., this weekend to compete in the UW-Whitewater Tournament. Luther goes up against Lewis & Clark at 5 p.m. on Friday, before concluding the two-day event with matches against Augustana (noon) and UW-Whitewater (2 p.m.) on Saturday.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Cardinals head into their first road match of the season Wednesday against Luther riding a three-match winning streak. After opening the season with a 3-0 loss to UM-Morris, Saint Mary's rattled off three straight victories over UW-Stout, Carthage, and Central-Iowa to finish 3-1 at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.)—a Second-Team AVCA All-American a year ago—finished with a team-leading 41 kills in the Cardinals' four Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic matches last weekend. … Blattner, who shared the team lead with 13 double-doubles a year ago, notched her first two this season last weekend—recording 11 kills and 12 digs against UW-Stout last Friday, before following that up with 12 kills and 13 digs against UW-Stout the following day. … Blattner, who led the Cardinals in kills in 24 of their 29 matches a year ago, set a single-match school record in the rally scoring era with 31 kills against Bethel on Oct. 21, 2016. The 31 kills were two better than her previous career-high 29, recorded against Central-Iowa on Sept. 9, 2016. … Gloria Kitange (Rochester, Minn.) and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) both posted career highs in kills in the Cardinals' 3-2 win over Central-Iowa last Saturday. Kitange led the way with a team-high 16 kills, one more than Kedl. … Brittney Hanson (Janesville, Iowa) and Lillian Braun (Kasson, Minn.) each posted season-highs in assists against Central-Iowa last Saturday, with Hanson dishing out 29, while Braun finished with 28. … The 28 assists vs. Central-Iowa tied a career high for Braun, who also posted 28 assists vs. Bethel and Central-Iowa a year ago. … Hanson finished the four-match season-opening Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic with a team-leading 79 assists, 10 more than Braun. … Clare Tack (St. Charles, Ill.) recorded a team-leading eight service aces last weekend, while also leading the team with 46 digs, seven more than Blattner. … With their 3-2 wins over Carthage and Central-Iowa last Saturday, the Cardinals are now 4-0 in their last four matches stretched to a fifth set. Saint Mary's beat both Gustavus and Nebraska Wesleyan 3-2 a year ago. … With their 3-1 showing last weekend, the Cardinals are now 7-1 in their last two Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic appearances—and 13-3 in their last four.
 
Scouting The Luther Norse:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
•  The Norse head into their home opener coming off a 2-2 showing at the Saint Mary's Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic. … Two of Luther's four matches at the Sugar Loaf Classic were decided in four sets—a 3-1 win over UM-Morris and a 3-1 loss to UM-Morris—while beating Ripon 3-0 and falling to the University of Chicago 3-2. … The Norse boast three players—Anna Larson (53), Karissa Kime (46), and Emma Veum (40)—who posted 40 or more kills in their four Sugar Loaf Classic matches last weekend. … Along with her 40 kills, Veum also leads the team with a .330 attack percentage. … Sam Sixta accounted for 158 of the team's 181 assists during last weekend's action. … The Norse served up 33 aces in four tournament matches last weekend, led by Sixta and Klime with eight each. … Natalie Cote picked up a team-high 73 digs at the Sugar Loaf Classic, while Kime chipped in 57, and Sixta and Anna Larson added 46 and 44 digs, respectively. … Luther is coming off a 2016 season that included a 21-8 overall record and a 6-2, second-place showing in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Norse lost to Coe 3-1 in the IIAC Playoff semifinal. …