By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals head to Carleton's West Gym for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Knights.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-3 MIAC, 9-8 Overall) at Carleton Knights (1-4 MIAC, 10-5 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 3, 2018 * Menomonie, Wis.: The Cardinals got a team-high 13 kills from Gloria Kitange (Rochester, Minn.) and 10 kills from Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Minn.), as they rolled to a 3-1 nonconference win over UW-Stout | Recap
• Carleton—October 3, 2018 * St. Joseph, Minn.: The Knights came up empty handed in their attempt to hand Saint Benedict its first conference loss, falling to the host Blazers 3-0 at Claire Lynch Hall | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton—Their Last Meeting:
• October 6, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals rallied from a 5-1 deficit to beat Carleton 15-9 and earn the 3-2 conference victory. After a pair of sets in which a four-point lead was a rarity—Saint Mary's won the opening set 26-24, while Carleton took Set 2 25-22—both teams posted lopsided victories to force a race to 15 fifth set. The Cardinals breezed to a 25-16 win in the third set, but could not put away the Knights, who responded with a 25-22 win in the fourth set. Carleton got out to a quick 5-1 lead in the fifth set, only to have Saint Mary's rattle off eight straight points for a 9-5 lead—and the Cardinals never looked back in rolling to their sixth five-set victory in eight tries | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, heading to Macalester's Leonard Center for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Scots.
• Carleton: The Knights hit the road on Wednesday, traveling to Hamline's Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference matchup with the Pipers.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Friday's match at Carleton is the fourth 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 3-1 win over UW-Stout on Wednesday, the Cardinals snapped a two-match losing streak. … After not recording a four-set win through their first seven wins this season, the Cardinals' last two victories have both been 3-1 decisions. … Six of the Cardinals' eight losses this season have been 3-0 decisions, with the other two going four sets. … Gloria Kitange (Rochester, Minn.) delivered a season-high 13 kills to lead the Cardinals' offense against UW-Stout Wednesday. … Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Minn.) chipped in 10 kills against the Blue Devils, with Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) adding seven kills and 13 digs. … 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 221 kills and has posted five double-doubles — has now recorded 10 or more kills in 15 of the team's 17 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. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.), the team-leader with eight double-doubles, finished with 37 assists against UW-Stout Wednesday, marking the 14^th time this season the junior has recorded 30 or more assists in a match. … 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. … Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) is currently second to Blattner in kills with 125 kills, while Flom has also eclipsed the 100-kill mark, sitting at 110. … Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn.) boasts a team-leading 15 service aces, one more than Blattner. … 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 240, while Blattner (174), Braun (158), Hayley Weber (Gladbrook, Iowa / 130), and Cronen (129) have also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Baab — who has posted 10 or more digs in all 14 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, 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 2-3 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 Carleton Knights:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Wednesday's match at Saint Benedict was Carleton's second straight road contest. Following Friday's showdown with Saint Mary's, the Knights return to the road for back-to-back contests, before closing out the season with three of their final four matches on their home floor. … After putting together a season-high six-match winning streak, the Knights enter Friday's match against Saint Mary's having dropped four straight — all by 3-0 decisions. … Carleton boasts three players — Elyse Wansenried (143), Abby Loe (139), and Faith Skinner (135) — who have recorded 100 or more kills this season. … Loe also leads the Knights with a .257 attack percentage, with Wansenried close behind at .226. … Inger Shelton and Natalie Mun have shared the setting duties for the Knights this season, with Shelton dishing out 277 assists, followed by Mun with 192. … Along with her team-best 277 helpers, Shelton also leads the team in service aces with 29, seven more than Tegan Carlson. … Celeste Chen has amassed a team-high 210 digs, while Wansenried (117) has also recorded 100 or more digs through 15 matches. … Olivia Powell boasts a team-leading 49 kills. … Carleton is unbeaten (4-0) in four-set matches this season, while going 4-1 in five-setters. Four of the Knights' five losses have been 3-0 sweeps.