By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play this weekend, as the Cardinals square off against Saint Benedict in a 7 p.m. matchup on Friday, before heading to Moorhead, Minn., for a 3 p.m. matchup against Concordia the following afternoon
 
The Matchups:
Friday, September 28, 2018 * St. Joseph, Minn. * 7 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-2 MIAC, 8-6 Overall) at Saint Benedict Blazers (3-1 MIAC, 13-5 Overall)
Saturday, September 29, 2018 * Moorhead, Minn. * 3 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-2 MIAC, 8-6 Overall) at Concordia Cobbers (1-2 MIAC, 5-11 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• at Saint Benedict:  Live Stats * Live Video
• at Concordia: Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 22, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals picked up their first conference win oft the season, outlasting St. Catherine 3-1 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Saint Benedict—September 25, 2018 * St. Joseph, Minn.: The Blazers suffered their first loss in nearly two weeks, as UM-Morris dealt CSB a 3-1 nonconference setback at Claire Lynch Hall | Recap
• Concordia—September 22, 2018 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Cobbers could not find a way to slow down the Augsburg offensive attack, as the Auggies dealt CC a 3-0 conference setback at Si Melby Hall | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict—Their Last Meeting:
• September 29, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: After dropping the first two sets of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Saint Benedict, the Cardinals appeared poised for yet another five-set marathon. After all, the Cardinals had already played seven five-set matches, and would need three straight set wins against the Blazers to make it eight. Unfortunately, the Blazers had other ideas, outlasted Saint Mary's 25-23 in the third set to complete the 3-0 sweep of the Cardinals at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—Their Last Meeting:
• September 30, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Through its first 17 matches of the season, the Cardinals had not dropped back-to-back matches, and Saint Mary's made sure that streak remained in tact—in impressive fashion. The Cardinals, who dropped a 3-0 decision to Saint Benedict on Friday evening, took out their frustrations on Concordia Saturday afternoon, rolling to a dominating 3-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Wednesday, traveling to Menomonie, Wis., for a 7 p.m. nonconference match against UW-Stout.
• Saint Benedict: The Bennies are back on their home court in St. Joseph, Minn., on Wednesday, playing host to Carleton in a 7 p.m. MIAC match at Claire Lynch Hall.
• Concordia: The Cobbers take to the road on Thursday, squaring off against Hamline in a 7 p.m. MIAC contest at HU's Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saturday's match against St. Catherine was the second of back-to-back home matches for the Cardinals, who 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. … Last Saturday's win over St. Catherine — which snapped a two-match losing streak — was the Cardinals' first 3-1 win of the season. … With last 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.) collected a team-high 15 kills in the Cardinals' 3-1 win over St. Catherine last Saturday. … Blattner has now recorded 10 or more kills in 13 of the team's 14 matches this season. … With her 15 kills against St. Catherine, Blattner heads into Friday's match against Saint Benedict needing just four kills to reach 1,000 for her collegiate 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 owns a team-high 196 kills — collected her fifth double-double against Concordia (Wis.) on Sept. 14, posting 13 kills and 11 digs. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) posted back-to-back double-doubles in the Cardinals' two matches last week — 23 assists and 12 digs vs. Augsburg and 44 assists and 15 digs against St. Catherine. … Braun now owns a team-leading seven double-doubles. … Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) is currently second to Blattner in kills with 103 kills, with Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Minn.) third with 84. … Braun has amassed a single-season career-high 537 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 12 of the team's 14 matches. …  Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn.) boasts a team-leading 13 service aces, one more than Braun and Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn.), and two in front of Blattner. … DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) — who posted her second match of 20 or more digs with a 20-dig effort against St. Catherine last Saturday — is the team's digs lead with 187, while Blattner (140), Braun (129), Cronen (116), and Hayley Weber (Gladbrook, Iowa / 110) have also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Baab — who has recorded 10 or more digs in all 11 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 last Saturday. … 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 1-3 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 Saint Benedict Bennies:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Friday's match against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight home matches for the Blazers, who are 5-3 on their home court this season. … CSB's 3-1 loss to UM-Morris on Tuesday snapped the Blazers' six-match winning streak. … Four of the Saint Benedict's six wins during its six-match run were decided by 3-1 decisions. The others were a five-set win over Hamline and a 3-0 sweep of Luther. … The Blazers enter this weekend's matches boasting five players with 100 or more kills — led by Hunter Weiss with 224. Madison Weiss (175), Liz Schultz (148), Lauren Matthews (128), and Claire Westby (112) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau. … Madison And Hunter Weiss are also hitting above .300 for the season, boasting attack percentages of .327 and .312, respectively. … Katie Koch has been the Blazers' assist leader, compiling 635 helpers through 18 matches (9.48 aps). … As a team, Saint Benedict boasts 97 service aces, led by Schultz with 27 and Haley LaValle with 18. … LaValle is the team's digs leader with 351, followed by Schultz (244), Koch (182), Allison Roehl (140), and Bridget McDonald (116), who all enter this weekend's matches with 100 or more digs. … Saint Benedict has collected seven wins by 3-0 sweep, while adding five 3-1 wins and one five-set victory. On the flip side, CSB has dropped three four-set matches and two that have gone the maximum five sets — the Blazers have not been swept through 18 matches. 
 
Scouting The Concordia Cobbers:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• After playing 14 of their first 16 matches on the road, the Cobbers play five of their next six on their home floor — beginning this weekend against Carleton and Saint Mary's. … With last Saturday's loss to Augsburg, the Cobbers' last six matches have all been decided by 3-0 decisions — CC has beaten North Central (Ill.) and Macalester, while losing to Lakeland, UW-Eau Claire, Mayville State, and Augsburg during that stretch. … The Cobbers head into this weekend's conference matches against Carleton and Saint Mary's boasting a pair of players — Haley Cuppett (153) and Brianna Carney (135) — with 100 or more kills through 16 matches. … Anna Brakke is third on the team in kills with 86, followed by Bailey Gronner (74) and Kendra Wiggs (56). … Jill Klaphake and Lexi Turn have shared the setting duties for the Cobbers. Klaphake has amassed 326 assists, while Turn owns 136 helpers. … Klaphake and Turn also lead the team in service aces with 21 and 10, respectively, while Casey Coste is the team's dig leader with 186. … Along with her 326 assists and 21 aces, Klaphake is also second to Coste in digs with 100. … Nine of Concordia's 11 losses have been 3-0 sweeps — including each of the Cobbers' last six. … Concordia has posted two 3-0 wins, while also winning a pair of four-setters and the only match that has gone the maximum five sets — beating Buena Vista 3-2 to open the season on Aug. 31.