By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team steps out of conference play this weekend to take part in the Northwestern (Minn.) Quadrangular. The Cardinals will face host Northwestern on Friday at 7 p.m., before squaring off against UW-Oshkosh (11 a.m.) and UW-River Falls (1 p.m.) the following day.
 
The Matchups:
Friday, October 12, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn. * 7 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (11-8 Overall) at Northwestern Eagles (17-5 Overall)
Saturday, October 13, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn. * 11 a.m./1 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (11-8 Overall) vs. UW-Oshkosh Titans (10-12 Overall)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (11-8 Overall) vs. UW-River Falls Falcons (12-13 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• vs. Northwestern: Live Stats * Live Video
• vs. UW-Oshkosh/UW-River Falls: Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 10, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals picked up their third conference win of the season, rolling to a 3-0 victory over Macalester at Leonard Center | Recap
• Northwestern—October 10, 2018 * Morris, Minn.: The Eagles were pushed to the limit in their UMAC match against UM-Morris, outlasting the Cougars 3-2 | Recap
• UW-Oshkosh—October 10, 2018 * Oshkosh, Wis.: The Titans suffered their second straight setback, dropping a 3-0 decision to UW-Stevens Point | Recap
• UW-River Falls—October 10, 2018 * River Falls, Wis.: UW-Stout picked up convincing wins in the first two sets and the Falcons could not recover, falling to the Blue Devils 3-1 in WIAC action | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Northwestern (Minn.)—Their Last Meeting:
• October 13, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: Fueled by Lindsey Peterson's 17 kills and .516 attack percentage, Northwestern proved to be the Cardinals' worst nightmare, as the seventh-ranked Eagles rolled to a 3-0 victory — making Saint Mary's its 20^th straight victim | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Oshkosh—Their Last Meeting:
• September 9, 2017 * Oshkosh, Wis.: The Cardinals jumped out to leads of 1-0 and 2-1 with 25-19 and 25-22 wins in the first and third sets, but UW-Oshkosh pulled even with a 25-23 victory in the fourth set, and sealed the win with a 15-10 victory in the fifth and final set to deal Saint Mary's a 3-2 nonconference setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-River Falls—Their Last Meeting:
• October 14, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals dominated the first set in their opening match against UW-River Falls, cruising to a 25-17 victory. From there, however, it was all UW-River Falls, as the Falcons rattled off three straight wins — 25-17, 28-26, 25-20 — to deal the Cardinals a 3-1 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals step out of conference play for the final time this season on Wednesday, heading to UW-La Crosse's Mitchell Hall in La Crosse, Wis., for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Falcons.
• Northwestern (Minn.): The Eagles return to conference play on Tuesday, traveling to Superior, Wis., for a 7 p.m. UMAC matchup against UW-Superior.
• UW-Oshkosh: The Titans are off until next weekend, when they head to Mequon, Wis., for matches against Concordia (Wis.) on Friday, and Illinois Wesleyan and Cardinal Stritch on Saturday.
• UW-River Falls: The Falcons are back in action next weekend, traveling to Mequon, Wis., for three matches. UW-River Falls will face Illinois Wesleyan on Friday, before squaring off against Millikin and Cardinal Stritch on Saturday.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Wednesday's match at Macalester was the fifth of nine straight road matches for the Cardinals, who do not return to the Saint Mary's Gym until Oct. 19, when they host Hamline in the first of four consecutive home contests to close out the season. … With their 3-0 sweep of Macalester on Wednesday, the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to three straight. … With their 3-2 win over Carleton on Oct. 5, Saint Mary's improved to 5-0 in matches extended to a fifth and final set. Saint Mary's is 4-5 in three-set matches and 2-3 in matches decided in four sets. On the flip side, six of the Cardinals' eight losses this season have been 3-0 decisions, with the other two going four sets. … After not recording a four-set win through their first seven wins this season, two of Cardinals' last four victories have both been 3-1 decisions. … Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) delivered a team-high nine kills in the Cardinals' sweep of Macalester Wednesday, while Gloria Kitange (Rochester, Minn.) chipped in seven kills and Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) added six kills and 14 digs. … Blattner — who owns a team-leading 239 kills — has recorded 10 or more kills in 16 of the team's 19 matches this season. … Blattner has put together a pair of 20-plus kill performances this season, recording 21 kills against Luther on Sept. 1 and delivering a season-high 22 kills vs. Lakeland on Sept. 9. … With her fourth kill against Saint Benedict last Friday, Blattner became the 13^th player in program history with 1,000 career kills. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.), the team-leader with eight double-doubles — two more than Blattner — finished with 20 assists against Macalester on Wednesday. … Braun has recorded 30 or more assists 15 times this season. … Braun has amassed a single-season career-high 697 assists and boasts three matches of 50 or more assists this season — including a career-high 63 assists against Luther on Sept. 1. … Braun's 63 assists vs. Luther on Sept. 1 were the second-most in program history, just two shy of record-holder Brittany Cherwinka—who, ironically, is Luther's current head coach. … Kedl is currently second to Blattner in kills with 149 kills, while Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Minn.) has also eclipsed the 100-kill mark, sitting at 121. … Along with her 697 assists, Braun also leads the team in service aces with 18. Braun is one of seven Cardinals with 10 or more aces this season — Hayley Weber (Gladbrook, Iowa / 17), Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn. / 16), Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn. / 15), Blattner (14), DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn. / 14), and Kedl (10) are the others. … Baab— who posted her fourth match of 20 or more digs with a 24-dig effort against Concordia on Sept. 29 — is the team's digs lead with 280, while Blattner (201), Braun (176), Weber (150), and Cronen (131) have also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Baab — who has posted 10 or more digs in all 16 matches she's played in this season — put together a single-match career-high 26 digs against Luther on Sept. 1. … Weber recorded a career-high 20 digs in the Cardinals' 3-1 win over St. Catherine on Sept. 22. … The Cardinals had their season-opening four-match winning streak snapped with a 3-0 loss to UW-Stevens Point in the opening day of the UW-Stevens Point Tournament on Sept. 8. … With their 4-0 performance at the season-opening Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, the Cardinals are now 11-1 in their last three Classic appearances—and 17-3 in their last five.
 
Scouting The Northwestern (Minn.) Eagles:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• With their win over UM-Morris on Wednesday, the Eagles enter this weekend's action riding a three-match winning streak. … The Eagles had their season-high nine-match winning streak snapped with a 3-0 loss to Augsburg on Sept. 28. Northwestern posted eight 3-0 wins during that nine-match win streak. … Saint Mary's is the Eagles' sixth of seven opponents from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Northwestern has already faced Concordia (W, 3-0), Bethel (L, 3-2), St. Olaf (W, 3-1), Gustavus (L, 3-2), and Augsburg (L, 3-2), and still has St. Thomas on its schedule. … Northwestern boasts four players who have recorded more than 100 kills this season, including two — Mariah Halvorsen (297) and Jenay Fuglestad (250) — who have eclipsed the 200-kill barrier. Kalley Schwitters (145) and Hope Kapelke (124) are the Eagles' other two 100-plus kill performers. … As a team, the Eagles are hitting .239, led by Fuglestad, who boasts a .302 attack percentage. … Sydney Schwitters has amassed a team-high 848 assists through 22 matches, averaging 11.78 assists-per-set. … Freya Hanson has recorded a team-best 26 service aces, with Halvorson (23) and Peyton Wright (21) also delivering 20 or more aces. … Along with her team-leading 26 aces, Hanson also leads the Eagles in digs with 336, with Kalley Schwitters (252), Halvorsen (203), Sydney Schwitters (199), and Wright (172) rounding out the top five. … Thirteen of the Eagles' 17 wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps. Northwestern has also added three, three-set wins and one five-setter. On the flip side, the Eagles have been swept just twice — falling to UW-Eau Claire and Augsburg — while losing one four-set match and a pair of five-setters.
 
Scouting The UW-Oshkosh Titans:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Titans head into this weekend's quadrangular on the heels of back-to-back losses — both 3-0 decisions. … UW-Oshkosh's last six losses have all been 3-0 sweeps. … Renee Rush enters weekend's matches leading the team with 170 kills. Rush is one of four Titans with 100 or more kills through 22 matches — Carly Lemke (147), Taylor Allen (131), and Shelby Coron (101) are the others. … Along with her 147 kills, Lemke is also hitting a team-best .259. … Emma Kiekhofer and Rebecca Doughty have shared the setting detail for the Titans, with Kiekhofer dishing out 374 assists, while Doughty has added 218 helpers. … Becky Brezen owns a team-best 21 service aces, with Kiekhofer (16) and Rachel Gardner (15) close behind. … UW-Oshkosh boasts five players with 100 or more digs, led by Gradner with 394. Katie Hodges (155), Brezen (127), Kiekhofer (113) and Rush (10-4) have also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Five of UW-Oshkosh's 10 wins have been 3-0 sweeps. The Titans also own four, four-set wins and one five-setter — a 3-2 triumph over Elizabethtown (Pa.) on Sept. 1. On the flip side, nine of UW-O's 12 losses have been decided in three sets. The Titans have lost two, four-set matches and one that has gone the maximum five sets.
 
Scouting The UW-River Falls Falcons:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Falcons head into this weekend's matches having gone 4-6 in their last 10 matches. … Wednesday's loss to UW-Stout snapped the Falcons' two-match winning streak. … Nine of UW-River Falls' 12 losses this season have come during four- and five-match losing streaks. … The Falcons' snapped their season-high five-match losing streak with a 3-0 win over Finlandia on Oct. 6. … The Falcons boast four players who have recorded 100 or more kills this season, including two — Dakotah Poitra (259) and Hannah Striggow (212) — with 200 or more kills. Along with Poitra and Striggow, Karli Nielsen (187) and Savannah Brauer (139) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau. … Mallory Griffin and Hailey Huseth have shared the setting duties for the Falcons, with Griffin owning a team-high 431 assists — just three more than Huseth. … Along with her team-high 431 assists, Griffin also leads the Falcons with a whopping 49 service aces. Poitra and Hannah Robb are second to Griffin with 24 aces each. … Robb boasts a team-best 498 digs. She is one of five Falcons with 200 or more digs through 22 matches —being joined by Poitra (323), Striggow (298), Griffin (204), and Huseth (201). … UW-River Falls is 4-4 in three-set matches this season, while going 6-8 in four-setters and 2-1 in matches extended to a fifth set. … Saint Mary's is the Falcons' eighth opponent from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. UW-RF is 1-6 vs. the MIAC thus far, having already faced Macalester (W, 3-2), St. Olaf (L, 3-1), Carleton (L, 3-2), St. Catherine (L, 3-1), St. Thomas (L, 3-1), Saint Benedict (L, 3-1), and Hamline (L, 3-0).