By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, traveling to Bethel's Robertson Center for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Royals.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC, 6-1 Overall) at Bethel Royals (0-0 MIAC, 6-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 7-8, 2018 * Stevens Point, Wis.: The Cardinals went 2-1 in their three matches at the UW-Stevens Point Tournament, falling to the host Pointers 3-0 in their opening match, before outlasting both Lakeland and Concordia (Wis.) in five sets the following day | UW-SP Recap * Lakeland/Concordia (Wis.) Recap
• Bethel—September 7-8, 2018 * Stevens Point, Wis.: The Royals finished 2-1 at the UW-Stevens Point Tournament last week, opening with wins over Carroll (3-1) and Concordia (Wis.) (3-2), before falling to UW-Stevens Point 3-1 | Carroll Recap * Concordia (Wis.)/UW-SP Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—Their Last Meeting:
• September 12, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals outlasted Bethel 15-13 in the fifth and deciding set to earn a 3-2 victory over Bethel in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals head to Kenosha, Wis., this weekend to take part in the Carthage Tournament. Saint Mary's will face the University of Chicago and Concordia (Wis.) on Friday, before taking on Milwaukee School of Engineering and host Carthage on Saturday.
• Bethel: The Royals return home to the Robertson Center this weekend for the Bethel Invitational. BU will face UW-Superior,, St. Scholastica, Luther, and UW-Stout during the two-day tournament.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saint Mary's kicks off conference play riding a two-match winning streak. 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 last Friday. … Wednesday's match at Bethel is the fourth of eight straight road matches for the Cardinals, who do not return home until Sept. 19, when they host Augsburg. … Both of the Cardinals' wins at the UW-Stevens Point Tournament last weekend came in five sets. … Saint Mary's has now played four Saturday matches — with all four going the maximum five sets. The Cardinals beat both Edgewood and Luther 3-2 at the season-opening Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic on Sept. 1, before adding 3-2 wins over Lakeland and Concordia (Wis.) last weekend at the UW-Stevens Point Tournament. … Lillian Braun followed up her 175-assist showing at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic on Aug. 31-Sept. 1 with 129 assists in three matches at UW-Stevens Point. … Braun, who posted a career-high 63 assists against Luther on Sept. 1, put together a pair of 50-plus assist showings at UW-Stevens Point, dishing out 51 helpers against Lakeland and 52 vs. Concordia (Wis.). … 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. … Fueled by a season-high 22-kill showing against Lakeland last Saturday, Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) collected a team-high 44 kills at the UW-Stevens Point Tournament. … Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Minn.) chipped in 25 kills, while Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) added 21. … DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) delivered a team-best 53 digs at last weekend's UW-Stevens Point Tournament, and Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn.) finished with a team-leading four aces. … Braun recorded double-doubles of 51 assists/10 digs against Lakeland and 52 assists/12 digs against Lakeland and Concordia (Wis.) and shares the team lead with three double-doubles with Blattner, who recorded her third with 21 kills and 14 digs against Lakeland. … Blattner heads into the Cardinals' conference-opener against Bethel boasting a team-high 105 kills—leaving the SMU senior just 95 kills shy of 1,00 for her career. … Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) is currently second to Blattner with 59 kills, with Flom third with 53. … Braun has accounted for 304 of the team's 337 assists—and boasts three matches of 50 or more assists this season. … Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn.) leads the Cardinals with 10 aces, three more than Gilles and Braun, while Baab is the team's digs lead with 117. … Baab put together a single-match career-high 26 digs against Luther on Sept. 1. …  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 2-1 in three-set matches and is yet to play a four-set match. … 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 Bethel Royals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• After dropping a 3-1 decision to Wartburg in their season-opener, the Royals rattled off six straight wins, before having that streak snapped with another 3-1 setback, this one at the hands of UW-Stevens Point last Saturday. … Wednesday's match against Saint Mary's is just the second home contest for the Royals, who beat UM-Morris 3-1 in their home opener on Sept. 4. BU is 1-1 on the road, while owning a 4-1 mark in neutral-site matches. … Tina Hoppe heads into Wednesday's conference-opener against Saint Mary's owning a team-high 84, followed closely by Brooke Olstad (78) and Maria Claflin (70). … Hannah Wilhite has been the Royals' primary setting, accounting for 260 of the team's 368 assists. … Ellie Hoyt has served up a team-high 12 aces, two more than Olstad. … Rylee Forshee is the team's digs leader with 139, with Olstad also eclipsing the 100-dig barrier, coming into Wednesday's match with 103. … Five of the Royals' eight matches this season have been decided in four sets — BU is 3-2 in those five four-setters. The Royals also own one three-set win and a pair of five-set victories. … The Royals have made four straight MIAC Tournament appearances and 12 MIAC post-season runs since 1999.