By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
KENOSHA, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team hits the road this weekend, heading to Carthage's Tarble Recreation and Athletic Center to take part in the Carthage Tournament.
 
The Carthage Tournament Field:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-2 Overall), Carthage Lady Reds (5-4 Overall), University of Chicago Maroons (9-0 Overall), Concordia (Wis.) (4-2 Overall), Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders (5-5 Overall)
 
The Carthage Tournament Schedule:
Friday, September 14, 2018 * Tarble Arena
• Saint Mary's vs. University of Chicago, 4:00 | MSOE vs. Carthage, 6:00 | Carthage vs. University of Chicago, 8:00
Friday, September 14, 2018 * Tarble Recreation and Athletic Center
• Saint  Mary's vs. Concordia (Wis.), 7:00
Saturday, September 15, 2018 * Tarble Arena
• MSOE vs. Saint Mary's, 10:00 | Saint Mary's vs. Carthage, noon | University of Chicago vs. MSOE, 2:00 | Carthage vs. Concordia (Wis.), 4:00
Saturday, September 15, 2018 * Tarble Recreation and Athletic Center
• Concordia (Wis.) vs. University of Chicago, noon
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• vs. Chicago, MSOE, Carthage: Live Stats * Live Video
• vs. Concordia (Wis.): Live Stats
 
Saint Mary's Last Action:
• September 12, 2018 * Arden Hills, Minn.: The Cardinals got off to a slow start and never recovered in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener against Bethel, falling to the Royals 3-0 at Robertson Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carthage Tournament Opponents—Their Last Meeting:
• vs. University of Chicago—October 10, 2014 * Naperville, Ill.: Saint Mary's kicked off the two-day Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament in impressive fashion, cruising to a 3-1 victory over the University of Chicago—a team currently ranked No. 25 in the latest AVCA Top 25 and coming off a 3-1 win over fourth-ranked Washington (Mo.). The Cardinals won the first two sets 25-22 and 25-23, and, after a slight "hiccup" with a 25-13 Set 3 loss, completed the win with a 25-18 victory in the fourth set | Recap
• vs. Concordia (Wis.)—September 8, 2018 * Stevens Point, Wis.: The Cardinals outlasted the Falcons 15-13 in the fifth set to earn a 3-2 victory over Concordia (Wis.) — their second five-set win of the day — at the UW-Stevens Point Tournament | Recap
• vs. MSOE—September 15, 2017 * Ripon, Wis.: Saint Mary's won the first two sets, 25-17, 25-17, only to lose the third set — by a 25-21 count — before sealing its second straight 3-1 win with their third 25-17 win in the fourth set at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational | Recap
• vs. Carthage—September 2, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals struggled in the odd sets of their opener against unbeaten Carthage during the second day of the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, managing just a combined 25 points in the first and third sets, while equaling that mark in both the second and fourth sets. Fortunately for coach Jackie Kiecker, the fifth and deciding set did not follow the same script, as the Cardinals jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in deal the Lady Reds their first loss of the season, 3-2 | Recap
 
Saint Mary's Up Next:
• The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, entertaining Augsburg in a 7 p.m. match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saint Mary's had its two-match winning streak snapped with Wednesday's 3-0 conference-opening loss to Bethel. … 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. … Both of the Cardinals' losses this season have now been 3-0 decisions. … 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. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) each recorded their team-leading fourth double-double against Bethel on Wednesday. Blattner finished with 11 kills and 14 digs, while Braun delivered 31 assists and added 10 digs. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) — who leads the team with 116 kills this season — 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 last Saturday. … With her 11 kills vs. Bethel, Blattner is now just 84 kills shy of 1,00 for her career. … Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) is currently second to Blattner with 68 kills, with Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Minn.) third with 59. … Braun has accounted for 335 of the team's 369 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. … Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn.) leads the Cardinals with 10 aces, three more than Braun and Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn.), while DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) is the team's digs lead with 133. … 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 2-2 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 University of Chicago Maroons:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Maroons head into this weekend's competition riding a season-opening nine-match winning streak — including a 3-1 upset of 11^th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday. … Wednesday's win over Illinois Wesleyan was Chicago's second straight 3-1 victory. The Maroons also own a pair of five-set wins, as well as five, 3-0 sweeps. … UC enters tournament play boasting four players with 60 or more kills through nine matches — led by Audrey Scrafford (86) and Sarah Muisenga (81). Anabella Pinton (76) and Madison Pearson (69) are the other two. … Scrafford is also hitting a team-leading .323, percentage points in front of Pearson (.312), while the Maroons are a team are hitting .273. … Emma Griffith owns 354 of the team's 401 assists — including a season-high 54 helpers against Cornell on Sept. 1 and 53 vs. Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday.  Griffith has dished out at least 30 assists in all nine matches this season. … Chicago owns 71 service aces, led by Katherine Wilson with 19, Griffith with 18, and Pearson with 17. … Wilson is also the team-leader in digs with 127, while Pearson boasts a team-best 23 blocks. … Five of Chicago's nine wins have come on its home court, while the Maroons are 2-0 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site matches.
 
Scouting The Concordia (Wis.) Falcons:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Falcons enter the Carthage Tournament with a 4-2 record, snapping a two-match losing streak with a 3-2 win over Lakeland on Wednesday. … With their win over Lakeland, the Falcons have now played three straight matches decided in a fifth set — CUW dropped back-to-back five-setters to Bethel and Saint Mary's at the UW-Stevens Point Invitational last Saturday. … Holly Anderson and Amanda Schultz lead the way for the Falcons' offense, amassing 78 and 75 kills, respectively. Megan Mayer is third with 66 kills. … As a team, CUW is hitting .171, led by Anderson with a .272 attack percentage. … Mackenzie Wockenfus and Haley Sedo have shared the setting duties for the Falcons, compiling 140 and 124 assists, respectively. … Haley Sedo is the team-leader in aces with 12, three more than Megan Mayer, while Ariana Richmond (116) and Madelyn Alton (112) are the team leaders in digs. … The Falcons have yet to play a home match this season. CUW is 3-1 in road matches and 1-1 in neutral-court contests.
 
Scouting The Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Raiders head into this weekend's four matches at the Carthage Tournament sitting at .500 (5-5). … After opening the season with three straight wins, the Raiders have gone 2-5 in their last seven — including losses in each of their last three matches. … Hannah Pekarek enters the weekend as the team's offensive leader, hitting .223 with a team-high 112 kills. … Allie Laurent has been the team's main setter, accounting for 284 of the Raiders' 355 assists through 10 matches. … MSOE has served up 60 aces this season, led by Heather Dukat with 14 and Julia Zeamer with 12. … The Raiders boast three players — Pekarek (165), Shelby Borchardt (134), and Laurent (103) — who have eclipsed the 100-dig plateau this season. … Three of MSOE's five wins have gone five sets, with the other two being decided in three sets. On the flip side, the Raiders have been swept twice, lost once in four sets, and dropped a pair of five-setters. … The Raiders have played just one "official" road match — falling to Marian 3-2 on Wednesday. MSOE is 2-3 on its home court, while going 3-1 in neutral-site matches.
 
Scouting The Carthage Lady Reds:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Lady Reds enter this weekend's home tournament owning a 5-4 record — including losses to No. 19 Washington (Mo.) University (3-1) and UW-Whitewater (3-2) in their last two matches. … Two of Carthage's four losses have come against nationally ranked teams. The Lady Reds fell to No. 1-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (3-2) on Aug. 31 and to No. 19 Washington (Mo.) University last Saturday. Carthage also owns a 3-0 win over No. 9 Southwestern. … Megan Behrendt has compiled a team-high 106 kills through nine matches, while also hitting a team-best .239. … Linda Morton and Shannon Kebisek are second and third on the team in kills with 74 and 73, respectively. … Ellie LeCount has done the majority of the setting duties for the Lady Reds, dishing out 296 assists. … Carthage boasts three players — Behrendt (15), LeCount (14), and Sarah Grabowski (11) — with 10 or more service aces. The trio have all also eclipsed the 100-dig barrier this season. Behrendt leads the way with 120 digs, followed by LeCount with 109, and Grabowski with 102. … Four of Carthage's five wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps, with the other a 3-1 win over Chapman on Sept. 1. On the flip side, the Lady Reds have dropped a pair of four-setters and two others that have gone the maximum five sets. … After losing its first two matches to open the season, Carthage rattled off five consecutive wins, before falling to Washington (Mo.) University and UW-Whitewater.