By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team closes out the regular-season portion of its schedule on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to Gustavus' Lund Center Gym for a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown against the Gusties.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-5 MIAC, 15-12 Overall) at Gustavus Gusties (x-x MIAC, x-x Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — October 30, 2019 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals kept their post-season hopes alive — but it wasn't season — as Saint Mary's rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Carleton 3-2 | Recap
• Gustavus — October 30, 2019 • St. Peter, Minn.: The Gusties maintained their strangle-hold on the fifth spot in the chase for one of the MIAC's six post-season berths with a 3-0 win over Macalester | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus — Their Last Meeting:
• October 26, 2018 • Winona, Minn.: The Gusties made the Cardinals their 17th straight victim, as Gustavus charged to convincing wins in the first two sets, overcame a third-set Saint Mary's victory, and completed its perfect run through the conference schedule with a win in the fourth set en route to a 3-1 victory at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
MIAC Playoff Picture | Complete Post-Season Breakdown
• The Cardinals head into the final match of the MIAC season deadlocked with Concordia, Bethel for the sixth and final MIAC Tournament berth with 5-5 conference records, one win behind Gustavus.
* Scenario #1: A Saint Mary's win and a Bethel loss to St. Catherine earns Saint Mary's the No. 5 seed in the MIAC Tournament.
* Scenario #2: If Saint Mary's beats GAC, and Bethel beats St. Catherine, there would be a three-way tie. After criteria #1 (head-to-head) there would still be a three-way tie, since Saint Mary's beat Gustavus, Bethel beat Saint Mary's, and Saint Mary's beat Gustavus. Meaning criteria #2 (sets won vs. tied teams) would be in play and Saint Mary's would have to sweep Gustavus to stay alive, since Gustavus swept Bethel and Bethel swept Saint Mary's.
* Scenario #3: if Saint Mary's beats Gustavus and St. Catherine beats Bethel, Saint Mary's would be the No. 5 seed and Gustavus would be No. 6.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Saturday's match at Gustavus is the fifth consecutive road match for the Cardinals, who are 10-7 away from the Saint Mary's Gym this season. … The Cardinals enter Saturday's match against Gustavus looking for its first MIAC Tournament berth since 2016 — and the program's 13th since 2000. … The Cardinals' win over Carleton Wednesday marked the second time in the month of October that Saint Mary's rallied from a 2-0 deficit to post a 3-2 victory. The Cardinals beat Concordia in the exact same fashion on Oct. 12. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) picked up her team-leading eighth double-double of the season — and second in as many matches — with 58 assists and 18 digs against Carleton Wednesday. … With the 29th of her 46 assists against St. Catherine last Saturday, Braun became the fourth player in program history to eclipse the 3,000 career assist mark. Braun, who owns 1,082 assists this season — cracked both the 2,000- and 3,000-career assist marks this year, reaching 2,000 career assists with her sixth helper against UW-Superior on Aug. 30. … Braun is now the first Cardinal since Brittney Cherwinka closed out her collegiate career with 3,164 assists in 2010. … With her 58 helpers against Carleton Wednesday, Braun has eclipsed the 50-assist barrier six times this season and 11 times during her collegiate career. … Braun's 65 assists vs. Concordia on Oct. 12 were two short of her school-record 67-assist effort against Hamline Sept. 18. … 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 53 of her last 54 matches and has recorded 20 or more assists 70 times in her four-year career. … Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.) picked up her sixth double-double against St. Catherine last Saturday, recording 16 kills and 13 digs. … Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) is currently third on the team with five double-doubles. … Barth notched 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 at Gustavus leading the team in kills with a single-season career-best 271, followed by Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis. / 250), Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn. / 212), and Daynalyn Jostock (Millville, Minn. / 202). …  The Cardinals have recorded 157 service aces this season, led by Braun (27) and DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn. / 25). … Baab owns a team-high 527 digs through 27 matches, while Braun is second with 241. … 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. … Saint Mary's has posted four players in double figures in kills twice this season — including Wednesday against Carleton — while notching a season-high five players in double figures in digs against Concordia on Oct. 12. … Hayley Weber (Gladbrook, Iowa) recorded a career-high 21 digs against Carleton on Wednesday. … Erin Lime's (Lino Lakes, Minn.) 14 kills against Concordia on Oct. 12 were a season high. … Hannah Skroch (Prior Lake, Minn.) delivered a career-best 15 digs against Saint Benedict on Oct. 11 and equaled that mark against Concordia the following day. … 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. … Saint Mary's owns four, three-set wins, while going 8-3 in four-setters and adding three, five-set victory. On the flip side, seven of Saint Mary's 12 losses have been 3-0 sweeps. The Cardinals have also dropped two, five-set matches. … 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Saturday's regular-season finale against Saint Mary's is just the fourth home match of the season for the Gusties — who have played 17 of their 27 matches on neutral-site courts. GAC is 2-1 at home and 11-23 away from the Lund Center Gym. … With their 3-0 win over Macalester Wednesday, the Gusties snapped a two-match losing streak — having dropped 3-1 decisions to Concordia and Saint Benedict last weekend. … The Gusties enter Saturday's match against Saint Mary's boasting five players who have recorded 100 or more kills — led by Kate Holtan (371) and Sarah Elliott (205). Rhyan Hermann (198), Annalee Olson-Sola (147), and Sydney Olson (123) have also eclipsed the 100-kill plateau this season. … Kaylyn Johnston and Mitaya Johnson have shared the setting duties this season, with Johnston posting a team-best 503 assists, while Johnson has chipped in 378 helpers. … Gustavus has amassed 185 service aces this season, led by Holtan (39), Hermann (29), Johnston (29), and OIson (23). … Hailey Embacher has recorded a team-best 517 digs, followed by Holtan (300) and Kylee Cox (180). … Eight of Gustavus' 13 wins — including Wednesday's against Macalester — have been 3-0 sweeps. GAC is 805 in three-set matches, 4-6 in four-setters, and 1-3 in matches going the maximum five sets.