By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team is back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play for the second day in a row on Saturday, as the Cardinals play host to Concordia in a 3 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-3 MIAC, 12-9 Overall) vs. Concordia Cobbers (2-2 MIAC, 5-14 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — October 11, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals got a 17-kill, 16-dig double-double from Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.) and rattled off three straight wins after dropping the opening set in dealing No. 5 Saint Benedict a 3-1 MIAC setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Concordia — October 11, 2019 •  Northfield, Minn.: The Cobbers came up empty in their conference match against St. Olaf, falling to the Oles 3-0 at Skoglund Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia — Their Last Meeting:
• September 29, 2018 • Moorhead, Minn.: Following their 3-0 loss to Saint Benedict less than 24 hours earlier, the Cardinals were in dire need of a bounce-back performance against Concordia. Unfortunately, Concordia didn't get the message, as the Cobbers dealt the Cardinals their second loss of the weekend, handing Saint Mary's a 3-0 — 25-21, 25-16, 27-15 setback at Memorial Auditorium | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals close out the home portion of their schedule next Saturday, hosting St. Olaf in a 3 p.m. conference match at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Concordia: The Cobbers are off until next Saturday, when they return home to Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn., for a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown against Augsburg.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Saturday's match against Concordia is the second of three straight home matches for the Cardinals, before closing out the regular season with five consecutive road contests. … The Cardinals' 3-1 win over Saint Benedict Friday snapped their two-match losing streak — while putting an end to the Bennies' 14-match winning streak. … Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.) led the Cardinal offense against Saint Benedict Friday, posting 17 kills and 16 digs. Daynalyn Jostock (Millville, Minn.) chipped in 12 kills, and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) and Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) added 11 and 10 kills, respectively. … Barth's 17-kill, 16-dig double-double was her fourth of the season, moved her into a tie with Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.), one back of Wallis' team-leading five double-doubles. … Barth posted her first collegiate double-double against Marian on Sept. 13, posting 11 kills and adding a career-best 12 digs, while Elise Amerongen (Woodbury, Minn.) also posted her first double-double in a Cardinal uniform with a 10-kill, 17-dig showing against Beloit on Sept. 14. … Barth enters Saturday's match against Concordia leading the team in kills with 210, followed by Wallis (184), Jostock (152), and Kedl (Lamberton, Minn. 150). … With her season-high 55 assists against Saint Benedict Friday, Braun pushed her team-leading total to 799 through 21 matches. … Braun has now eclipsed the 50-assist barrier four this season. Along with her 55 helpers against Saint Benedict, the senior posted 54 assists against UW-Superior on Aug. 30, 53 against Coe on Sept. 27, and 52 against Marian on Sept. 13. … Braun has finished with 50 or more assists in a match nine times in her collegiate career. … Braun, who owned a single-season career-high 1,098 assists a year ago — the most by a Cardinal in a season since 2013, when Lexi Assimos dished out 1,197 — has posted 20 or more assists in 47 of her last 48 matches and has recorded 20 or more assists 64 times in her four-year career. … Braun — who accounted for 55 of Saint Mary's 57 assists vs. Saint Benedict Friday — has now recorded 256 of the team's 272 assists in the last six matches. … Braun heads into Saturday's match against Concordia with 2,794 career assists — eclipsing the 2,000 career assist mark with her sixth helper against UW-Superior on Aug. 30. … The Cardinals have recorded 122 service aces this season, led by Braun (19), DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn. / 18), Kedl (17), Hayley Weber (Gladbrook, Iowa / 14) and Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn. / 13). … Baab owns a team-high 397 digs through 21 matches, while Braun is second with 170. Wallis (152), Barth (137), Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn. / 112), and Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn. / 103) have also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … Baab recorded a career-high 42 digs in the Cardinals' loss to Hamline on Sept. 18 — it was the most digs in a match since Theresa Perrini had 41 against Augsburg in 2008, and was just six digs shy of Perrini's single-match school-record 48, set against Loras, also during the 2008 season. … Hannah Skroch (Prior Lake, Minn.) delivered a career-best 15 digs against Saint Benedict Friday. … Jostock recorded a career-best 18 kills in Saint Mary's 3-1 win over Augustana on Sept. 28. … Coral Anderson (Rogers, Minn.) equaled her career high with 14 kills against Beloit on Sept. 14, while Hope Miner (Prescott, Wis.) recorded a career-best 11 kills against the Buccaneers. … Jordan Meyers (Eyota, Minn.) owned a career-high 18 digs and Mandy Schmidt (Mitchell, S.D.) dished out a career-high 35 assists against Beloit on Sept. 14, while Cronen notched a career-best 15 digs against Ripon that same day. … Wallis' 17 kills against UW-Superior on Aug. 30 and 19 digs vs. UW-River Falls the following day were both career highs. … With their win over Saint Benedict Friday, seven of the Cardinals' last 10 victories have been 3-1 decisions. … Saint Mary's owns four, three-set wins, while going 6-1 in four-setters and adding one, five-set victory. On the flip side, six of Saint Mary's nine losses have been 3-0 sweeps. The Cardinals have also dropped two, five-set matches. … With their 2-1 showing at the Augustana Viking Classic last weekend, the Cardinals improved to 9-3 on the road this season. … With their 2-2 showing at this year's season-opening Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic, the Cardinals are now 13-3 in their last four Sugar Loaf Classics, while going 19-5 in their last six.
 
Scouting The Concordia Cobbers:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• With this weekend's matches against St. Olaf and Saint Mary's, the Cobbers will have played 16 of their 19 matches this season on the road. CC is 2-1 on its home court, while going 3-12 away from Memorial Auditorium. … Last Saturday's 3-0 win over Macalester snapped the Cobbers' three-match losing streak — a streak that included three consecutive 3-1 setbacks. … After opening the season 2-8 — including a season-high eight-match losing streak — the Cobbers have gone 3-5 in their last eight. … The Cobbers enter Saturday's match against Saint Mary's boasting four players with 100 or more kills through 19 matches — Kendra Wiggs (141), Brianna Carney (130), Anna Brakke (125), and Bailey Gronner (119). … Jill Klaphake and Lexi Turn have shared the setting duties for the Cobbers this season, with Klaphake recording a team-leading 330 assists, while Turn owns 298 helpers. … Along with her team-leading 299 assists, Klaphake also leads the team with 21 service aces. Gabby DeBoer (19), Brakke (13), Casey Coste (12), and Turn (12) have also recorded 10 or more aces this season. … DeBoer owns a team-best 314 digs, followed by Brakke (202), Turn (166), Klaphake (158), and Coste (153). … The Cobbers' five wins have come via two, three-set sweeps and three five-setters. On the flip side, CC has dropped six 3-0 and five 3-1 decisions, while also falling twice when the match has been extended to a fifth set.