By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
LA CROSSE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team steps out of conference play for the final time this season on Wednesday, traveling to UW-La Crosse for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Eagles.
 
The Matchups:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (12-10 Overall) at UW-La Crosse Eagles (14-10 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 12-13, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals finished 1-2 in their three matches at the Northwestern Quadrangular, falling to Northwestern (3-2) and UW-Oshkosh (3-0), before rebounding with a 3-1 win over UW-River Falls | Day 1 Recap * Day 2 Recap
• UW-La Crosse—October 13, 2018 * Cedar Rapids, Iowa: The Eagles went 1-1 in their two matches at the Coe Invitational, falling to Saint Benedict 3-0, while beating Coe 3-2
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-La Crosse — Their Last Meeting:
• October 18, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals bounced back from an opening-set, 25-22 loss with back-to-back victories — 25-22 and 26-24 — but the Eagles rained on their Senior Day parade, outlasting Saint Mary's 25-22 in the fourth set and building a huge lead in cruising to a 15-7 fifth set win to deal SMU a 3-2 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday and Saturday at the Saint Mary's Gym, hosting Hamline in a 7 p.m. matchup on Friday, before entertaining St. Thomas at 3 p.m. the following afternoon.
• UW-La Crosse: The Eagles are off until next Wednesday, when they return WIAC action ­— traveling to Whitewater, Wis., for a 7 p.m. showdown with UW-Whitewater
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Wednesday's match against UW-La Crosse is the last road match of the season for the Cardinals, who close out the year with four consecutive home contests — beginning Friday against Hamline. … Saint Mary's enters Wednesday's showdown against UW-La Crosse having played nine straight matches on the road. … The Cardinals' 3-2 loss to Northwestern last Friday snapped their three-match winning streak. … Saint Mary's 3-2 setback against Northwestern was also the first five-set loss of the season for the Cardinals, who had won their first five five-setters. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) finished with a team-high 49 kills in the three matches at the Northwestern Quadrangular. … Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) chipped in 32 kills, while Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) dished out 117 assists and DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) posted a team-leading 41 digs. … Braun picked up her team-leading ninth and 10^th double-doubles last weekend, recording 46 assists and 14 digs against Northwestern, before adding 45 assists and 10 digs vs. UW-River Falls. … Blattner also notched a pair of double-doubles — her eighth and ninth — with a 21-kill, 11-dig showing against Northwestern and a 19-kill, 12-dig effort against UW-River Falls. … Blattner's 21 kills against Northwestern last Friday marked the third time this season the senior has eclipsed the 20-kill plateau. She also recorded 21 kills against Luther on Sept. 1 and delivered 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. … Blattner — who owns a team-leading 288 kills — heads into Wednesday's match against UW-La Crosse sitting 11^th all-time with 1,088 career kills. … With her 46 assists against Northwestern and 45 against UW-River Falls last weekend, Braun has now posted eight matches of 40 of more assists this season. … Braun — who has amassed a single-season career-high 814 assists — 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 181, while Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Minn.) has also eclipsed the 100-kill mark, sitting at 130. … Along with her 814 assists, Braun also leads the team in service aces with 22. Braun is one of seven Cardinals with 10 or more aces this season — Hayley Weber (Gladbrook, Iowa / 21), Blattner (18),  Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn. / 18), Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn. / 17), Baab (16), and Kedl (12) are the others. … Baab 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 20 or more digs six times 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. … Saint Mary's is 4-6 in three-set matches, 3-3 in matches decided in four sets, and 5-1 in matches extended to a fifth set. … After not recording a four-set win through their first seven wins this season, three of Cardinals' last five victories have both been 3-1 decisions. … 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 UW-La Crosse Eagles:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Wednesday's match against Saint Mary's is the final home match of the season for the Eagles, who close out the regular season with three straight road contests. … UW-La Crosse heads into Wednesday's showdown against Saint Mary's boasting four players who have recorded 100 or more kills this season, including two — Emma Lawrence (265) and Marisa Johnson (242) — who have eclipsed the 200-kill plateau. Kathryn Maas is third on the team with 169 kills, followed by Rhiana Pochman with 135. … Mass owns a team-best .233 attack percentage, with Lawrence second at .183. … Abbey Fox has collected a team-leading 676 assists through 24 matches. Emily Jenewein is second to Fox with 159 helpers. … The Eagles have recorded 173 service aces — led by Johnson with 45. Julia Van Fleet (29), Fox (24), and Sophie Quelle (24) have also serviced up 20 or more aces this season. … Van Fleet has amassed a team-leading 478 digs, followed by Johnson (293), Fox (252), and Quelle (243). … Last Saturday's 3-2 win over Coe was the Eagles' fourth victory in six five-set matches this season. The Eagles also boast an 8-3 record in three-set matches, while going just 2-4 in four-setters. … UW-La Crosse heads into its home finale against Saint Mary's boasting a 4-2 record on its home court, while the Eagles are 2-4 in road matches and 8-4 in neutral-court contests.