By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
MENOMONIE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team steps out of conference play on Wednesday, traveling to UW-Stout for a 7 p.m. nonconference match against the Blue Devils.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (8-7 Overall) at UW-Stout Blue Devils (8-8 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 28-29, 2018 * St. Joseph/Moorhead, Minn.: The Cardinals dropped a pair of 3-0 conference decisions last weekend, falling to Saint Benedict on Friday and Concordia on Saturday | CSB Recap * CC Recap
• UW-Stout—September 29, 2018 * Menomonie, Wis.: Kara Simonson collected a career-high 17 kills in leading the Blue Devils to a 3-1 conference win over UW-La Crosse at Johnson Fieldhouse | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Stout—Their Last Meeting:
• September 1, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals, smarting from a 3-0, season-opening loss to UM-Morris earlier in the day, took out their frustrations on UW-Stout, as Saint Mary's blew past the Blue Devils 3-0 in their final match of the opening day of the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic at the Gostomski Fieldhouse. Saint Mary's never gave the Blue Devils a chance, rolling to a 25-15 win in the opening set, before closing out the 3-0 sweep with a 25-19 win in Set 2, and a 25-18 victory in the third and final set | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. showdown with Carleton.
• UW-Stout: The Blue Devils hit the road on Saturday, traveling to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., for an 11 a.m. nonconference match against the Auggies.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Wednesday's match against UW-Stout is the third 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. … The Cardinals' win over St. Catherine on Sept. 22 was their first 3-1 win of the season. … With their losses to Saint Benedict and Concordia last weekend, six of the Cardinals' eight losses this season have been 3-0 decisions, with the other two going four sets. … Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) posted a team-high nine kills, with Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Minn.) each chipping in eight, against Saint Benedict last Friday, while Blattner and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) each posted 10 kills against Concordia the following day. … With her fourth kill against Saint Benedict last Friday, Blattner became the 13^th player in program history with 1,000 career kills. … Blattner has now recorded 10 or more kills in 14 of the team's 16 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. … Blattner — who owns a team-high 214 kills — collected her fifth double-double against Concordia (Wis.) on Sept. 14, posting 13 kills and 11 digs. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) delivered a double-double of 34 assists and 14 digs against Saint Benedict and finished with 27 assists and seven digs against Concordia. … Braun now owns a team-leading eight double-doubles. … Kedl is currently second to Blattner in kills with 116 kills, while Flom has also eclipsed the 100-kill mark, sitting at 100. … Braun has amassed a single-season career-high 598 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. … Braun has delivered 30 or more assists in 12 of the team's 14 matches. …  Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn.) boasts a team-leading 14 service aces, two more than Braun, Blattner, and Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn.). … DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) — who posted her fourth match of 20 or more digs with a 24-dig effort against Concordia last Saturday — is the team's digs lead with 224, while Blattner (151), Braun (150), Cronen (127), and Hayley Weber (Gladbrook, Iowa / 119) have also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Baab — who has recorded 10 or more digs in all 13 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 last Saturday. … The Cardinals, who went 6-3 in five-set matches a year ago, are a perfect 4-0 in five-setters this year. Saint Mary's is 3-5 in three-set matches and 1-3 in matches decided in four sets. … 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-Stout Blue Devils:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Wednesday's match against Saint Mary's is the fourth straight home match for the Blue Devils — who opened the season with 13 consecutive road matches. UW-Stout returns to the road for its next nine matches, before closing out the regular season with back-to-back home contests. … Saint Mary's is the Blue Devils' fourth of fifth opponents from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. UW-Stout has already faced St. Olaf (L, 3-1), Bethel (L, 3-0; L, 3-0), and Hamline (W, 3-0), and still have Augsburg on their schedule. … UW-Stout enters its nonconference match against Saint Mary's boasting three players — Kennedy Strain (173), Amber Ripley (122), and Lexie Nelson (117) — who have recorded 100 or more kills through 16 matches. … Along with her team-leading 173 kills, Strain also boasts a team-best .258 attack percentage. … Jessica DuVal owns a team-leading 511 assists (8.24 aps), while Nelson chipping in 113 helpers. … As a team, the Blue Devils have amassed 90 service aces, led by DuVal (17), Ripley (16), and Nelson (15). … Steph Carson is the team's dig leader with 336. Carson is one of five Blue Devils with 100 or more digs this season — she is joined by Nelson (189), DuVal (141), Emily Makina (141), and Ripley (116). … Strain has recorded a team-leading 42 blocks, 11 more than McKylie Hoff. … The Blue Devils are 4-3 in three-set matches, while going 2-2 in four-setters and 2-3 in matches extended to a fifth set.