By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
RIPON, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team is back in action this weekend this weekend, as the Cardinals head to Ripon College to take part in the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational
 
The Ripon Red Hawk Field:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-3 Overall), Ripon Red Hawks (2-5 Overall), Marian Sabres (2-6 Overall), Milwaukee School of Engineering (2-5 Overall), Beloit Buccaneers (7-3 Overall), Carroll Pioneers (5-4 Overall)
 
The Ripon Red Hawk Schedule:
Friday, Sept. 13, 2019 * Court 1 | Live Video
• Ripon v. Marian, 3 p.m. • Marian v. Saint Mary's, 5 p.m. • Ripon v. Carroll, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 13, 2019 * Court 2 | Live Video
• MSOE v. Beloit, 3 p.m. • Beloit v. Carroll, 5 p.m. • MSOE v. Saint Mary's, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019 * Court 1 | Live Video
• Ripon v. MSOE, 10 a.m. • Saint Mary's v. Beloit, Noon • Ripon v. Saint Mary's, 2 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019 * Court 2 | No Live Video
• Beloit v. Marian, 10 a.m. • Carroll v. Marian, Noon • Carroll v. MSOE, 2 p.m.
 
Cardinals' Last Action:
• September 4, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals could not slow down UW-Stout's late-set charges, as the Blue Devils rallied from late deficits in all three sets in handing Saint Mary's a 3-0 nonconference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Cardinals vs. Ripon Red Hawk Opponents — Their Last Meeting:
• vs. Marian — September 15, 2017 * Ripon, Wis.: Erin Lime (Lino Lakes, Minn.) paced a balanced Saint Mary's offensive attack, as the Cardinals opened the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational with a 3-1 victory over Marian. The Cardinals opened with back-to-back set wins over Marian, 25-19 and 25-22, before dropping the third set, 25-21. The Cardinals iced the win with a convincing 25-14 victory in the fourth set | Recap
• vs. MSOE — September 15, 2018 * Kenosha, Wis.: The Cardinals entered the second day of the Carthage Tournament in a rather foul mood. Losses to the University of Chicago and Concordia (Wis.) the previous evening will do that to a team. And the Cardinals took out their frustrations on MSOE, cruising to a convincing 3-0 victory | Recap
• vs. Beloit — August 31, 2007 * Ripon, Wis.: The Cardinals kicked off their season in impressive fashion, rolling to a 3-0 (30-24, 30-22, 30-27) victory over Beloit during the first day of the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational | Recap
• vs. Ripon — September 16, 2017 * Ripon, Wis.: Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) recorded 14 kills and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) added 13, as the Cardinals closed out the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational with an impressive 3-0 sweep of the host Red Hawks | Recap
 
Cardinals Up Next:
• The Cardinals kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, playing host to Hamline in a 7 p.m. showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Cardinals return to action after a nine-day layoff, having not played since dropping a 3-0 decision to UW-Stout on Sept. 4. … This weekend's matches at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational are the first road contests of the season for the Cardinals, who have played their first five matches at home. … Not one of the Cardinals' first five matches have been decided in four sets. Saint Mary's kicked off its season with a 2-2 showing at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic on Aug. 30-31 — with two matches ending in 3-0 sweeps and the other two going the maximum five sets — while also dropping a 3-0 decision to UW-Stout on Sept. 4. … Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis.) recorded her first three collegiate double-doubles at the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic on Aug. 30-31. Wallis notched 17 kills and 17 digs against UW-Superior on Aug. 30, before adding a 14-kill, 19-dig effort against UW-River Falls on and a 10-kill, 12-dig performance against Luther the following day. … Wallis' 17 kills against UW-Superior and 19 digs vs. UW-River Falls were both career highs. … Daynalyn Jostock's (Millville, Minn.) 11 kills in the Cardinals' 3-2 loss to UW-River Falls on Aug. 31 were a career high. … Wallis and Lexi Barth (Bryon, Minn.) share the team lead with 55 kills heading into the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational, followed by Jostock with 41 and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) with 38. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.), who accounted for 157 of the Cardinals' 182 assists at the season-opening Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic — including 54 in Saint Mary's season-opening 3-2 win over UW-Superior — delivered 30 helpers against UW-Stout on Sept. 4. … Braun's 54 assists vs. UW-Superior on Aug. 30 marked the sixth time the Cardinal senior has recorded 50 or more helpers in her 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 each of her last 32 matches and has recorded 20 or more assists 49 times in her four-year career. … Braun heads into this weekend's Ripon Red Hawk Invitational with 2,182 career assists — eclipsing the 2,000 career assist mark with her sixth helper against UW-Superior on Aug. 30. … Braun picked up her first double-double of the season against UW-River Falls on Aug. 31, dishing out 46 assists and adding 18 digs. … The Cardinals picked up five service aces against UW-Stout on Sept. 4, pushing their season total to 32. … Kedl leads the team with nine aces, one more than Braun. … DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) owns a team-high 96 digs through five matches, while Wallis — who had a team-best 17 digs vs. UW-Stout on Sept. 4 — is second with 79. … With their 2-2 showing at this year's 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 Marian Sabres:
2019 Roster | 2019 Statistics | 2019 Schedule
• The Sabres enter this weekend having gone 2-6 in their first eight matches — including a 3-2 loss to Beloit on Tuesday. … Marian's 3-2 loss to Beloit on Tuesday snapped its two-match winning streak. The Sabres put an end to their season-opening five-match losing streak with a 3-2 win over Johnson & Wales last Saturday. … Monica Dreifuerst has been the Sabres' go-to player on the attack, recording a team-high 100 kills — nearly 50 more than Hanah Waither, who is second with 51. … Amber Yahr owns a team-leading 266 assists, while Jenna Skroski has amassed a team-best 10 service aces, two more than Nicole Buckley, and three in front of Dreifuerst and Andrea Miller. … Marian boasts a pair of players who have eclipsed the 100-dig plateau this season — Dreifuerst leads the team with 107, while Skroski is close behind with 103. … As a team, the Sabres are averaging 10.2 kills-per-set, but are hitting just .075.
 
 Scouting The MSOE Raiders:
2019 Roster | 2019 Statistics | 2019 Schedule
• The Raiders head to Ripon in the midst of a 2-5 start to the 2019 season — including a 3-0 loss to Wheaton to close out the MSOE Invitational last Saturday. … After opening the season 1-1, MSOE has gone 1-5 in its last six contests — the lone win, a 3-2 victory over Lake Forest last Saturday. … Saint Mary's is the second opponent from the MIAC for the Raiders, who beat Carleton 3-2 on Aug. 30. … MSOE boasts four players with 30 or more kills through seven matches — led by Chloe Wallach with 66 and Quinn Borchert with 59. … Amanda Yackley has delivered a team-high 69 assists, five more than Grace Brock, while Allie Laurent has chipped in 57 helpers. … Wallach and Laurent share the top spot in service aces with eight each, one more than both Brock and Yackley. … Bekah Smith is the Raiders' digs leader with 92, followed by Wallach with 79. … As a team, MSOE is averaging 9.48 kills-per-set and is hitting .109.
 
Scouting The Beloit Buccaneers:
2019 Roster | 2019 Statistics | 2019 Schedule
• Beloit heads into tournament play red-hot, boasting a 7-3 record — including victories in each of its last five matches. … After going 2-2 in their season-opening home tournament — beating Martin Luther and Northland, while falling to Kalamazoo and Olivet — the Buccaneers have gone 5-1 in their last six contests. After falling to Rockford 3-1 on Sept. 3, Beloit has rolled to wins over Iowa Wesleyan, Silver Lake CC, Eureka, North Central (Minn.), and Marian. … The Buccaneers have two players — Eva Laun-Smith (147) and Amanda Baran (109) — who have recorded 100 or more kills through 10 matches. … Paige Wimbrow has been the Buccaneers' main setter, accounting for 330 of the team's 392 assists. … Laun-Smith owns a team-leading 18 service aces, two more than both Wimbrow and Jade Mosquera. … Mosquera leads five Buccaneers with 100 or more digs, recording 148. Lau-Smith (133), Courtnie Thomas (124), Amanda Baran (111), and Wimbrow (109) are the other four. … As a team, Beloit is averaging 11.0 kills-per-set and is hitting .179. … Four of Beloit's seven wins have been 3-0 sweeps. On the flip side, the Buccaneers have not been swept this season — dropping a pair of 3-1 decisions, as well as a 3-2 setback to Kalamazoo.
 
Scouting The Ripon Red Hawks:
2019 Roster | 2019 Statistics | 2019 Schedule
• Ripon comes into its home tournament sporting a 2-5 record. After opening the season with two wins in its first four contests, the Red Hawks have dropped three straight — sandwiching 3-0 losses to Lakeland and UW-Stevens Point around a 3-1 loss to Elmhurst last weekend at the UW-Stevens Point Invitational. … Inesha Wiseman leads the team in kills with 53, followed by Emily Allard (43), Brooke Bauer (39), Kaelyn Flairty (38), and Lydia Ellis (34). … Along with her 43 kills, Allard is hitting a team-high .218. … Ellie Mackenzie has done the majority of the setting for the Red Hawks, compiling 167 assists. … Micaela Encarnacion owns a team-high 12 service aces, five more than Allard, while also leading the team in digs with 114. … As a team, Ripon is averaging 9.27 kills-per-set and is hitting .142. … Three of Ripon's five losses have been 3-0 sweeps. The Red Hawks have also dropped one four-set match and one that has gone the maximum five sets. On the flip side, Ripon owns one 3-0 win and one 3-2 win to account for its two victories.