By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team closes out its regular-season schedule on Friday, as the Cardinals host league-leading and nationally ranked Gustavus in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchups:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-6 MIAC, 13-13 Overall) vs. #9 Gustavus Gusties (10-0 MIAC, 24-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program | Senior Salute
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 24, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals got 20 kills and 14 digs from Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.), but St. Olaf used a 6-1 run to end the fifth and deciding set in handing Saint Mary's a 3-2 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Gustavus—October 24, 2018 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Gusties locked up the program's sixth MIAC regular-season title, riding the 21-kill, 22-dig performance by Kate Holtan to a 3-1 MIAC win over Augsburg at Si Melby Hall | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus — Their Last Meeting:
• October 28, 2017 * St. Peter, Minn.: Gustavus never let the Cardinals get their offense jump-started, handing Saint Mary's a 3-0 setback, and Bethel did the unthinkable with a five-set marathon win over Augsburg to lock up the final play — and leave the Cardinals on the outside looking in. Gustavus grabbed the upper hand early, and never took their foot off the gas in dealing Saint Mary's the 25-15, 25-18, 25-15 setback—and dashing the Cardinals' hopes of a fifth straight MIAC Playoff appearance | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: Friday's match against Gustavus is the season finale for the Cardinals.
• Gustavus: The Gusties have already locked up one of the top two seeds in the MIAC Championships and will host a semifinal match next Thursday at 7 p.m. in St. Peter, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Friday's match against Gustavus is the fourth straight home match for the Cardinals, who are 6-3 on their home court this season. … Friday's showdown against Gustavus is also the final collegiate match for Cardinal seniors Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.), Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Minn.), and Gloria Kitange (Rochester, Minn.). … Wednesday's loss to St. Olaf was the Cardinals' eighth five-set match of the season — and second in their last three matches. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) recorded her 11^th double-double of the season against St. Olaf Wednesday, posting 20 kills and 14 digs. … Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) and Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) chipped in 14 and 10 kills, respectively vs. the Oles, while Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) finished with 54 assists and DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) added 17 digs. … Blattner's 20 kills against St. Olaf Wednesday marked the fifth time this season the senior has eclipsed the 20-kill plateau. She has also recorded 21 kills three times, 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 355 kills and is second on the team with 11 double-doubles — heads into Friday's match against Gustavus sitting 11^th all-time with 1,124 career kills. … Blattner's 355 kills and 3.55 kills-per-set lead the MIAC. … Kedl is currently second to Blattner in kills with a career-high 223, while Flom (156), Wallis (120), and Kitange (115) have also eclipsed the 100-kill mark. … Kitange recorded a career-high 16 kills against UW-La Crosse on Oct. 17. … … Saint Mary's boasted a season-high five players with 10 or more kills against Hamline last Friday — led by Blattner with 21. Wallis and Kedl each chipped in 15 kills, with Kitange and Flom (Kenyon, Minn.) each adding 11. … With her 54 assists against St. Olaf Wednesday, Braun has now dished out 50 or more assists five times this season. … Braun set a single-match school record with 68 assists against Hamline last Friday. 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 last Friday. … Braun heads into Friday's season finale against Gustavus with a single-season career-high 1,001 assists. … Braun's 1,001 assists are the most by a Cardinal in a season since 2013, when Lexi Assimos dished out 1,197. … Braun leads the team with 12 double-doubles. … Along with her 1,001 assists, Braun also leads the team in service aces with 23, one more than Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Hayley Weber (Gladbrook, Iowa), and three in front of Blattner. … Baab, who has recorded 20 or more digs nine times this season — including a career-best 26-dig effort against Luther on Sept. 1, leads the team with 403 digs. … Blattner (280), Braun (248), and Weber (222) have also recorded 200 or more digs this season. … Weber recorded a career-high 20 digs in the Cardinals' 3-1 win over St. Catherine on Sept. 22. … Saint Mary's is 4-7 in three-set matches, 3-4 in matches decided in four sets, and 6-2 in matches extended to a fifth set. … 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Gusties enter Friday's regular-season finale against Saint Mary's ranked No. 9 in the latest AVCA Top 25. … Gustavus claimed at least a share of the MIAC's regular-season title with Wednesday's win over Augsburg — the Gusties' sixth MIAC crown in program history and first since 2015. … Each of GAC's last three wins have been 3-1 decisions. … Gustavus heads to Saint Mary's riding a season-high 16-match winning streak. GAC has not lost since dropping a 3-2 decision to UW-Eau Claire on Sept. 14. After going 1-1 to open the season, the Gusties are 23-1 in their last 24 contests. … Kate Holtan, who had 21 kills and 22 digs against Augsburg on Wednesday, heads into Friday's match at Saint Mary's leading the team with 308 kills — she is one of six Gusties with 100 or more kills this season. Lauren Hanson (255), Hanna Albers (207), Nora Holtan (147), Kaikea Welsh (135), and Sam Haugen (126) have also recorded 100 or more kills this season. … Reigning AVCA National Player of the Week Nora Holton collected equaled her season high with 53 assists against Augsburg on Wednesday. It was the second time in the last three matches that the senior had dished out 53 assists. Nora Holton has surpassed 50 or more assists in a match 15 times this season. … With her third assist against Concordia last Friday, Nora Holtan broke the Gusties' 22-year old record for most career assists, surpassing Jess Lobben's (1993-96) mark of 4,201. … Nora Holtan boasts a team-leading 920 assists this season — and has 4,352 helpers in her four-year collegiate career. … Albers owns a team-leading 29 service aces, two more than both Kate and Nora Holtan, and six in front of Brittany Luethmers. … Luethmers is the Gusties' digs leader with 451, followed by Kate Holtan (311) and Nora Holtan (210). … Kate Holton has recorded a team-leading 14 double-doubles this season, while sister Nora has chipped in 11. … Gustavus boasted three players with double-doubles against Augsburg Wednesday — Kate Holtan (21 kills, 22 digs), Nora Holtan (53 assists, 14 digs), and Lauren Hanson (11 kills, 14 digs). … Hailey Embacher notched a career-high 28 digs against the Auggies Wednesday. … As a team, Gustavus recorded 109 digs against Augsburg Wednesday — the highest digs total in a match since Oct. 17, 2011 when the Gusties tallied 120 in five sets against UW-La Crosse. Wednesday's effort marked the most digs in four sets since the Gusties posted 114 against Austin College in 2008. … The Gusties are a perfect 12-0 in three-set matches this season, while going 8-1 in four-setters and 3-1 in matches extended to a fifth set. … Gustavus closed the home portion of its regular-season schedule a perfect 5-0 on its home court — the Gusties are 6-2 in road matches and 12-0 in neutral-site contests.