By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain St. Catherine in a 3 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-2 MIAC, 7-6 Overall) vs. St. Catherine Wildcats (0-2 MIAC, 6-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 19, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals dropped their second conference match of the season, falling to Augsburg 3-0 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• St. Catherine—September 19, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Wildcats got off to a slow start and never recovered in falling to Bethel 3-0 in their home-opener at Butler Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine—Their Last Meeting:
• September 23, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals needed to bounce back from a mid-match lapse to outlast St. Catherine 3-2 at Butler Center. Saint Mary's was in complete control early against the Wildcats, winning Sets 1 and 25-23 and 25-18. The Wildcats decided to make the Cardinals work for the victory, pulling even with 25-21 and 25-18 victories in the third and fourth sets to pull even, 2-2. In the fifth set, the Cardinals pulled away late, using a set-ending 7-4 run to turn an 8-8 nailbiter into a 15-12 Saint Mary's victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off until next Friday and Saturday. Saint Mary's travels to St. Joseph, Minn., on Friday for a 7 p.m. MIAC showdown with Saint Benedict, before heading to Moorhead, Minn., for a 3 p.m. matchup against Concordia the following day.
• St. Catherine: The Wildcats step out of conference play on Monday, heading to New Ulm, Minn., for a 7 p.m. nonconference match against Martin Luther.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saturday's match against St. Catherine is the second of back-to-back home matches for the Cardinals, who will play their next nine matches away from home. The Cardinals 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 Wednesday's loss to Augsburg, four of the Cardinals' six losses this season have been 3-0 decisions, with the other two going four sets. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.), who compiled a team-leading 53 kills in the Cardinals' four matches at the Carthage Tournament last weekend, finished with a match-high 12 kills against Augsburg on Wednesday. … With her 12 kills vs. the Auggies, Blattner pushed her team lead to 181 — leaving her just 19 kills shy of 1,000 for her career. … 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 has now posted 10 or more kills in 12 of the team's 13 contests — collected her fifth double-double against Concordia (Wis.) on Sept. 14, posting 13 kills and 11 digs. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) recorded her team-leading sixth double-double of the season against Augsburg Wednesday, finishing the match with 23 assists and 12 digs. … Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) is currently second to Blattner in kills with 90 kills, with Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Minn.) third with 84. … Braun has amassed 493 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 11 of the team's 13 matches. … Braun's 493 assists are her single-season career high. … Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn.) and Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn.) lead the Cardinals with 12 aces, two more than Blattner and Braun. … DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) is the team's digs lead with 168, while Blattner (132), Braun (114), and Cronen (108) have also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … 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 3-3 in three-set matches and 0-2 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 St. Catherine Wildcats:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Wednesday's match against Bethel was the first home match of the season for the Wildcat, who played their first nine matches — and will play 12 of their first 13 — away from their home court in Butler Center. … With Wednesday's loss to Bethel, the Wildcats have now lost back-to-back 3-0 decisions. … Mackenzie Peper and Emma Nelson head into Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's as the Wildcats' kills leaders with 76 and 75, respectively. … Lauren Isaacson (57) and Emily Carman (52) have also posted 50 or more kills this season. … Brooke Beuning and Meagan Schwarzrock have shared the setting duties for SCU this season, with Beuning dishing out a team-high 168 assists, followed by Schwarzrock with 131. … St. Catherine boasts three players — Larissa Kisch (18), Beuning (17), and Grace Amacher (12) — with 10 or more service aces through 10 matches. … Amacher is the team's dig leader with 170, followed by Nelson (90) and Kisch (87). … Four of St. Catherine's six wins have been 3-0 sweeps, with the other two coming in four sets. On the flip side, SCU has lost two three-set matches, one four-setter, and one that was extended to a fifth set.