By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota volleyball team kicks off conference play on Wednesday, hosting Hamline in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC, 6-3 Overall) vs. Hamline Pipers (0-0 MIAC, 7-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 13-14, 2019 * Ripon, Wis.: The Cardinals posted a perfect 4-0 showing at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational, rolling to 3-0 wins over MSOE and Ripon, while adding 3-1 victories against both Marian and Beloit | Day 1 Recap * Day 2 Recap
• Hamline—September 13-14, 2019 * River Falls, Wis.: The Pipers won two of their three matches at the River Falls Tournament, falling to Saint Benedict 3-0, before rebounding with a 3-2 win over UW-Superior and a 3-0 sweep of Northland | Day 1 Recap * Day 2 Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline — Their Last Meeting:
• October 19, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: After opening their MIAC match against Hamline with a convincing 25-15 win in the opening set, it appeared as if Saint Mary's would have an easy time posting a victory. The Cardinals did post the conference victory — but there wasn't anything easy about it. Saint Mary's needed a 15-10 win in a fifth and decisive set — and a record-setting performance from setter Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) — to beat the Pipers 3-2 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals take to the road this weekend, heading to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to participate in the Coe Invitational. Saint Mary's will face Loras (5 p.m.) and Ripon (7 p.m.) on Friday, before squaring off against UW-Eau Claire (10 a.m.) and Cornell (1 p.m.) this following day.
• Hamline: The Pipers are back in action this weekend with a pair of matches. Hamline will face Crown in a 7 p.m. nonconference contest at Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn., on Friday, before heading to Roseville, Minn., for a 4 p.m. nonconference showdown against Northwestern.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Last weekend's matches at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational were the first road matches of the season for the Cardinals, who played their first five matches of the season at home. … After playing their first five matches without a four-set decision, the Cardinals posted a pair of 3-1 wins at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational — beating both Marian and Beloit in four. … Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) and Lexi Barth (Byron, Minn.) were named to the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational All-Tournament Team. … Barth closed out tournament play last weekend with a team-high 44 kills, two more than Kedl and three in front of Coral Anderson (Rogers, Minn.). … Barth recorded her first collegiate double-double against Marian last Friday, 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 last Saturday. … Anderson equaled her career high with 14 kills against Beloit last Saturday, 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 last Saturday. … 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. … Barth enters conference play on Wednesday leading the team in kills with 99, followed by Kedl with 80. … Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) recorded 129 assists at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational — including 52 in Saint Mary's 3-1 win over Marian last Friday. … Braun has eclipsed the 50-assist barrier twice this season — recording a season-high 54 helpers against UW-Superior on Aug. 30 and 52 vs. Marian last Friday. … Braun has now finished with 50 or more assists in a match seven 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 35 of her last 36 matches and has recorded 20 or more assists 52 times in her four-year career. … Braun heads into Wednesday's conference opener against Hamline with 2,311 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 28 service in their four Ripon Red Hawk Invitational matches last weekend, pushing their season total to 60. … Kedl leads the team with 10 aces, one more than Braun and DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.). … Baab owns a team-high 143 digs through nine 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 Hamline Pipers:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Wednesday's conference-opener at Saint Mary's is the Pipers' 10^th road match of the season. HU has played just once on their home court this season, falling to UW-Stout 3-0 on Sept. 11. … Hamline enters Wednesday's showdown riding a two-match winning streak. … After opening the season with a 3-0 loss to Lewis & Clark, the Pipers put together a season-high five-match winning streak, before going 2-2 in their last four contests. … Madison Hurrle has been the Pipers' offensive leader, compiling a team-leading 108 kills, while hitting .344. … Gabby Robinson is second to Hurrle with 89 kills, six more than Sydney Larson. … Megan Rubbelke owns 349 of the Pipers' 410 assists, while chipping in nine service aces. … Morgen Coleman leads HU with 12 aces, while Hurrle is tied for Rubbelke with nine aces. … Maggie Gavic has amassed a team-high 144 digs, while Coleman has also eclipsed the 100-dig plateau with 101. … Four of Hamline's last five victories have been 3-0 sweeps — the lone exception, a 3-2 win over UW-Superior last Friday.