By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team is back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Bethel's Robertson Center Gym for a 5 p.m. showdown against the Royals
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-2 MIAC, 11-8 Overall) at Bethel Royals (2-1 MIAC, 13-5 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — October 2, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) posted a double-double of 10 kills and 13 digs, but it was not enough, as No. 19 St. Thomas dealt the Cardinals a 3-0 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Bethel — October 1, 2019 * Northfield, Minn.: Maria Claflin hit a season-best .611, recording 12 kills on 18 attempts, in leading the Royals ta convincing 3-0 sweep of Carleton at West Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel — Their Last Meeting:
• September 12, 2018 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Bethel scored 11 of the match's first 13 points and never looked back, sweeping past the Cardinals 3-0 at Robertson Center Gym. Bethel took advantage of that 11-2 start to grab a convincing 25-15 win in the opening set. BU held off a late Saint Mary's charge to take a 2-0 lead with a 25-22 victory in Set 2, before completing the sweep with a 25-17 win in the third set | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off until next weekend, when they host Saint Benedict and Concordia in a pair of MIAC matches at the Saint Mary's Gym. Saint Mary's and CSB will square off at 7 p.m. on Friday, before entertaining the Cobbers at 3 p.m. the following afternoon.
• Bethel: The Royals are back on the road on Thursday, heading to Macalester's Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference match against the Scots.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• With Saturday's game at Bethel, the Cardinals will be playing their ninth road match in the last 10 contests — the lone exception, Wednesday's 3-0 loss to No. 19 St. Thomas. Saint Mary's will play its next three matches on its home court, before closing out the regular season with five consecutive road contests. … Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) — named to last weekend's Augustana Viking Classic All-Tournament Team — led the Cardinals with 10 kills and 13 digs in Wednesday's 3-0 loss to 19th-ranked St. Thomas. Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) added 34 assists and DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) finished with a team-best 20 digs. … Wallis has now recorded back-to-back double-doubles — having notched 14 kills and a career-high 20 digs against Augustana on Sept. 28 — and leads the team with five double-doubles this season, two more than Braun and three in front of Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.). … 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. … Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.) enters Saturday's conference showdown at Bethel leading the team in kills with 177, followed by Wallis (165), Daynalyn Jostock (Millville, Minn. / 140), and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn. 128). … With her 34 assists against St. Thomas Wednesday, Braun pushed her team-leading total to 708 through 19 matches. … Braun has eclipsed the 50-assist barrier three this season. Along with her 53 helpers against Coe on Sept. 27, 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 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 45 of her last 46 matches and has recorded 20 or more assists 62 times in her four-year career. … Braun — who accounted for 34 of Saint Mary's 37 assists vs. St. Thomas last Wednesday and has now recorded 165 of the team's 176 assists in the last four matches — heads into Saturday's match at Bethel with 2,703 career assists — eclipsing the 2,000 career assist mark with her sixth helper against UW-Superior on Aug. 30. … The Cardinals have recorded 117 service aces this season, led by Braun (19), Baab (17), Kedl (15), Hayley Weber (Gladbrook, Iowa / 14) and Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn. / 13). … Baab owns a team-high 359 digs through 19 matches, while Wallis is second with 150. Braun (146), Barth (117), and Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn. / 109) 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. … 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 two wins at the Augustana Viking Classic on Sept. 27-28, six of the Cardinals' last nine 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, five of Saint Mary's eight 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 Bethel Royals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Bethel is in the midst of playing five of six matches on the road — the lone exception, Saturday's tilt against Saint Mary's. … The Royals are 1-3 on their home court this season, while going 11-2 away from the Robertson Center Gym. … After going 5-5 in their first 10 contests, the Royals have rattled off eight straight wins to improve to 13-5 overall. …The Royals enter Saturday's match against Saint Mary's boasting six players who have recorded 100 or more kills this season — led by Maria Claflin with 235. Hannah Wilhite (146), Kelsie Sealock (144), Macie Gavic (119), Allie Fauth (110), and Emily Rossing (108) are the others. … Claflin also leads the team in attack percentage, hitting .282 (235-for-577). … Wilhite and Ellie Hoyt have shared the setting duties, with Wilhite compiling 488 assists, while Hoyt has chipped in 296. … The Royals have amassed 108 service aces, led by Hoyt with 23, and Sealock and Claflin with 16. … Dominique leads the team with 276 digs. She is one of six Royals with 100 or more digs — including Fauth (236) and Rylee Forshee (209) who have joined her above the 200-dig plateau. … Three of Bethel's five losses have been 3-2 decisions — and all came during BU's season-high three-match losing streak, where the Royals lost to St. Norbert, UM-Morris, and Saint Benedict. … BU's other two losses this season have been 3-1 decisions — the Royals have not been swept all year. On the flip side, Bethel owns six three-set wins, three four-set victories, and four wins that have gone the distance.