By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play for the second time in as many days on Saturday, as the Cardinals host St. Thomas in a 3 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchups:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-4 MIAC, 13-11 Overall) vs. St. Thomas Tommies (6-2 MIAC, 19-7 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 19, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) dished out a single-match school-record 68 assists in leading the Cardinals to a 3-2 conference win over Hamline at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• St. Thomas—October 19, 2018 * Arden Hills, Minn.: The Tommies inched closer to locking up the No. 3 seed in the MIAC Playoffs, rolling to their third straight win — a 3-1 victory over Bethel at Robertson Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas — Their Last Meeting:
• October 21, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: Thanks to a convincing 3-1 victory at Hamline the night before, the Cardinals headed into their MIAC matchup with league-leading and nationally ranked St. Thomas riding plenty of positive momentum. And the Cardinals were good against high-powered St. Thomas—but the Tommies were better. St. Thomas never let the Cardinals get things on track, as the Tommies opened with a 25-18 victory and never looked back—adding 25-21 and 25-20 victories in dealing Saint Mary's the 3-0 setback at Schoenecker Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on their home court at the Saint Mary's Gym on Wednesday, hosting St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. conference contest.
• St. Thomas: The Tommies return home to Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday, entertaining Hamline in a 7 p.m. matchup.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saturday's match against St. Thomas is the second of four straight home matches for the Cardinals. … With their 3-2 win over Hamline Friday, the Cardinals improved to 6-1 in five-set matches this season — the lone blemish being a 3-2 loss to Northwestern on Oct. 12. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) set a single-match school record with 68 assists against Hamline Friday evening. It was the second time this season the Cardinal junior has eclipsed the 60-assist mark, having notched 63 helpers against Luther on Sept. 1. … Braun accounted for 68 of the team's 70 assists vs. Hamline Friday. … With her 68-assist effort, Braun has now amassed a single-season career-high 920 assists. … Saint Mary's boasted a season-high five players with 10 or more kills against the Pipers Friday — led by Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) with 21. Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) each chipped in 15 kills, with Gloria Kitange (Rochester, Minn.) and Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Minn.) each adding 11. … Blattner's 21 kills against Hamline Friday marked the fourth time this season the senior has eclipsed the 20-kill plateau. She also recorded 21 kills against Luther on Sept. 1 and vs. Northwestern on Oct. 12, while delivering a season-high 22 kills vs. Lakeland on Sept. 9. … With her fourth kill against Saint Benedict on Sept. 28, Blattner became the 13^th player in program history with 1,000 career kills. … Blattner — who owns a team-leading 324 kills and is second on the team with 10 double-doubles — heads into Saturday's match against St. Thomas sitting 11^th all-time with 1,124 career kills. … Kitange's 16 kills against UW-La Crosse Wednesday were a career high. … Kedl is currently second to Blattner in kills with a career-high 202, while Brittney Flom (144), Kitange (110), and Walls (106) have also eclipsed the 100-kill mark. … Along with her 920 assists, Braun also shares the team in service aces (22) with Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Hayley Weber (Gladbrook, Iowa). … DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) — who notched 25 digs against Hamline Friday — one shy of her career high — is the team's digs lead with 368, while Blattner (260), Braun (236), Weber (203), and Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn. / 143) have also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Baab — who has posted 20 or more digs eight 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, 3-4 in matches decided in four sets, and 6-1 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 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 St. Thomas Tommies:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Saturday's match against Saint Mary's is the fourth straight road contest for the Tommies, who close out the regular season with four consecutive home matches — beginning Wednesday against Hamline. … The Tommies enter Saturday's match against Saint Mary's having won three straight and six of their last seven. … St. Thomas has lost back-to-back matches just once this season — falling to both Colorado College (3-1) and UW-La Crosse (3-2) in early September — while putting together three, three-match winning streak and a season-high five-match win streak. … St. Thomas boasts five players with 100 or more kills this season, including three — Madie Kroehler (258), Grace Bordson (222), and Julia Spacek (216) — with more than 200 kills. Audrey Erickson (180) and Fran Egan (138) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau. … Katherine Mallak has amassed a team-leading 843 assists, while  Ellie Meyer is the team-leader with 42 service aces. … Meyer is one of six Tommies with 10 or more aces through 26 matches, being joined by Kroehler (22), Mallak (18), Meghan Mazzola (18), Natalie Tomhave (15), and Bordson (12). … Meyer has delivered a team-best 429 digs. She is one of four Tommies with 200 or more digs — Kroehler (313), Mazzola (278), and Mallak (206) are the others. … Eleven of St. Thomas' 18 wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps. The Tommies are 11-1 in three-set matches, while going 6-5 in four-set contests and 2-1 in matches extended to a fifth set.