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 on Wednesday, as the Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. showdown against nationally ranked St. Thomas.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1 MIAC, 11-7 Overall) vs. #19 St. Thomas Tommies (2-0 MIAC, 14-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 27-28, 2019 * Rock Island, Ill.: The Cardinals finished 2-1 at the Augustana Viking Classic, sandwiching 3-1 wins over Coe and Augustana around a 3-0 loss to Wartburg | Day 1 Recap * Day 2 Recap
• St. Thomas—September 25, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: Madie Kroehler recorded a team-high 15 kills, as the Tommies kicked off the home portion of their schedule with a 3-1 conference win over Concordia at Schoenecker Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas — Their Last Meeting:
• October 20, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: St. Thomas, fueled by 10 blocks — and a match-high 15 kills from Madie Kroehler — dealt the Cardinals a 3-0 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym. The loss dropped the Cardinals to 4-5 in conference play and leaves them one game back of the sixth and final MIAC Playoff spot with two matches to play | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Saturday, heading to Bethel's Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 5 p.m. MIAC showdown against the Royals.
• St. Thomas: The Tommies return home to Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, entertaining Carleton in a 3 p.m. conference contest.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Last weekend's appearance at the Augustana Viking Classic closed out an eight-match road swing for the Cardinals, who play on their home court Wednesday against St. Thomas for the first time since Sept. 18. … With their two wins at the Augustana Viking Classic last weekend, six of the Cardinals' last nine victories have been 3-1 decisions. … Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) and Daynalyn Jostock (Millville, Minn.) were both named to the Augustana Viking Classic All-Tournament Team last weekend. Wallis finished with 41 kills, while Jostock chipped in 40 kills and a team-best .341 attack percentage. … Jostock recorded a career-best 18 kills in Saint Mary's 3-1 win over Augustana last Saturday, while Wallis recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 14 kills and a career-best 20 digs vs. the Vikings. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) accounted for 131 of the team's 139 assists in three matches last weekend — including a 53-assist effort against Coe last Friday. … Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.) enters Wednesday's conference showdown against St. Thomas leading the team in kills with 170, followed by Wallis (155), Jostock (134), and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn. 122). … With her 131 assists last weekend, Braun pushed her team-leading total to 674 through 18 matches. … Braun has now eclipsed the 50-assist barrier three this season. Along with her 53 helpers against Coe last Friday, the senior also dished out 52 assists against Marian on Sept. 13 and delivered a season-high 54 against UW-Superior on Aug. 30. … Braun has now finished with 50 or more assists in a match eight 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 44 of her last 45 matches and has recorded 20 or more assists 61 times in her four-year career. … Braun heads into Wednesday's match vs. St. Thomas with 2,669 career assists — eclipsing the 2,000 career assist mark with her sixth helper against UW-Superior on Aug. 30. … The Cardinals have recorded 116 service aces this season, led by Braun (19), DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn. / 16), Kedl (15), Hayley Weber (Gladbrook, Iowa / 14) and Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn. / 13). … Baab owns a team-high 339 digs through 18 matches, while Braun is second with 140. Wallis (137), Barth (116), and Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn. / 102) 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. …  Wallis owns a team-best four double-doubles this season, one more than Braun and two in front of Barth. … 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. … 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 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 St. Thomas Tommies:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Tommies head into Wednesday's matchup against Saint Mary's ranked No. 19 in the latest AVCA national poll. … With their match against the Cardinals, St. Thomas will have played 17 of their first 18 matches on the road — the lone exception, last Wednesday's 3-1 win over Concordia. … St. Thomas' 3-1 win over the Cobbers last Wednesday pushed its winning streak to three straight. … St. Thomas heads into Wednesday's match at Saint Mary's boasting five players with 100 or more kills through 17 matches. Fran Egen leads the way with 163, followed by Madie Kroehler (143), Hannah Braun (136), Selena Levendoski (130), and Kate Achenbach (119). … Braun boasts a team-high .213 attack percentage, edging out Egan (.195) and Levendoski (.188). … Grace Anetipa has amassed a team-best 575 assists (10.0 aps), while Kroehler leads the Tommies with 19 service aces. … Kroehler is one of four Tommies with 10 or more aces this season — Meghan Mazzola (16), Ellie Meyer (14), and Levendoski (10) are the other three. … Along with her 14 aces, Meyer owns the team lead in digs with 298, followed by Kroehler (172), Mazzola (169), and Anetipa (148). … As a team, the Tommies have posted 8=760 kills (13.3 kps), 719 assists (12.6 aps), and 1037 digs (18.1 dps). … Seven of St. Thomas' 14 wins have been 3-0 sweeps. The Tommies also own five four-set wins and a pair of five-setters. On the flip side, two of St. Thomas' three losses have been 3-0 decisions — falling to Carthage and UW-Eau Claire in back-to-back matches on Sept. 13 — with the other loss a 3-2 setback to UW-Oshkosh on Sept. 20.