By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals head to Macalester's Leonard Center for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Scots.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-3 MIAC, 10-8 Overall) at Macalester Scots (0-6 MIAC, 912 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 5, 2018 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals outlasted Carleton 19-17 in the fifth and decisive set in handing the Knights a 3-2 conference setback | Recap
• Macalester—October 6, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: Macalester saw its conference losing streak climb to six straight, as St. Catherine dealt the Scots a 3-0 MIAC setback at SCU's Butler Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—Their Last Meeting:
• October 11, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's drive for a third straight win hit a bit of a speed bump against Macalester. All that bump did, however, was force the Cardinals to put the pedal to the metal. After splitting its first two sets with Macalester, the Cardinals took complete control, rolling to convincing victories in Sets 3 and 4 en route to a 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals step out of conference play this weekend, taking part in the Northwestern (Minn.) Quadrangular in St. Paul, Minn. Saint Mary's will face host Northwestern on Friday at 7 p.m., before squaring off against UW-Oshkosh (11 a.m.) and UW-River Falls (1 p.m.) the following day.
• Macalester: The Scots are back in action play on Friday, heading to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 5 p.m. contest against the Auggies.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Wednesday's match at Macalester is the fifth 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 3-2 win over Carleton last Friday, the Cardinals have now won back-to-back matches. … Saint Mary's improved to 5-0 in matches extended to a fifth and final set. Saint Mary's is 3-5 in three-set matches and 2-3 in matches decided in four sets. On the flip side, Six of the Cardinals' eight losses this season have been 3-0 decisions, with the other two going four sets. … After not recording a four-set win through their first seven wins this season, two of Cardinals' last two victories have both been 3-1 decisions. … Gloria Kitange (Rochester, Minn.) delivered a season-high 13 kills to lead the Cardinals' offense against UW-Stout last Wednesday, while Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) finished with a team-best 15 kills against Carleton two days later. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) recorded 12 kills and added 13 digs against Carleton last Friday for her sixth double-double of the season. … Blattner — who owns a team-leading 233 kills — has now recorded 10 or more kills in 16 of the team's 18 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. … With her fourth kill against Saint Benedict last Friday, Blattner became the 13^th player in program history with 1,000 career kills. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.), the team-leader with eight double-doubles, finished with 37 assists against UW-Stout last Wednesday and delivered 42 helpers against Carleton last Friday, marking the 14^th and 15^th times this season the junior has recorded 30 or more assists in a match. … Braun has amassed a single-season career-high 677 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. … Kedl is currently second to Blattner in kills with 140 kills, while Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Minn.) has also eclipsed the 100-kill mark, sitting at 119. … Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn.) boasts a team-leading 16 service aces, and is one of seven Cardinals with 10 or more aces — being joined by Braun (14), Blattner (14), DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn. / 13), Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn. / 13), Hayley Weber (Gladbrook, Iowa / 13), and Kedl (10). … Baab— who posted her fourth match of 20 or more digs with a 24-dig effort against Concordia on Sept. 29 — is the team's digs lead with 264, while Blattner (187), Braun (1167), Weber (139), and Cronen (131) have also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Baab — who has posted 10 or more digs in all 15 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 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 Macalester Scots:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Wednesday's showdown against Saint Mary's is the sixth home match in the last seven contests for the Scots, who are 5-5 on their home court this season. … Last Saturday's loss to St. Catherine snapped the Scots' two-match winning streak. … With their setback against St. Catherine last Saturday, the Scots' last five losses have all been 3-0 sweeps. … 
Macalester heads into Wednesday's matchup against Saint Mary's boasting four players — Nicole Bennington (150), Grace Brickner (138), Sofi Ascencio (118), and Sofia Parmelee (115) — who have recorded 100 of more kills through 21 matches. … Brickner leads the team with a .176 attack percentage, with Parmelee (.156) and Ashley Heifnstein (.150) close behind. … Emily Bowler has been the Scots' primary setter, dishing out 548 assists, while Abrielle Dillon has delivered a team-leading 33 service aces. … Ascencio (27) and Bowler (21) have also collected 20 or more service aces this season. … Along with her team-leading 33 aces, Dillon also owns the team lead in digs with 348. Ascencio (164), Bowler (161), and Hannah Detlaff (155) have also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau this season. … Four of the Scots' nine wins this season have been sweeps, while Macalester has also won three four-setters and a pair of five-setters. On the flip side, seven of the Scots' 12 losses have been decided in three sets. Macalester has also lost three four-setters and two sets that have gone the maximum five sets.