By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team is back in action this weekend, traveling to Augustana College to take part in the Augustana Viking Classic. The Cardinals will face Coe on Friday, before squaring off against Wartburg and Augustana the following day.
 
The Augustana Viking Classic Field:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-6 Overall), Augustana Vikings (7-7 Overall), Coe Kohawks (8-9 Overall), Wartburg Knights (12-6 Overall),
 
The Augustana Viking Classic Schedule:
Friday, Sept. 27, 2019 * Court 1 | Live Stats * Live Video
• Augustana vs. Coe, 5 p.m. | Augustana vs. Wartburg, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 27, 2019 * Court 2 | No Live Stats or Video
• Coe vs. Saint Mary's, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019 * Court 1 | Live Stats * Live Video
• Saint Mary's vs. Wartburg, 10 a.m. | Augustana vs. Saint Mary's, noon
 
Cardinals' Last Action:
• September 25, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals picked up their first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win of the season — and did so in quick fashion, rolling to a 3-0 win over Macalester at Leonard Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augustana Invitational Opponents — Their Last Meeting:
• vs. Coe — October 9, 2015 * Naperville, Ill.: The Cardinals could not get their offense on track against Coe at the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament. The Cardinals and Kohawks split the first two sets — Coe winning Set 1, 25-23 and Saint Mary's taking the second set, 25-21. But the Cardinals could not muster a second set win, as Coe closed out the match with 25-21 and 25-17 victories to post the 3-1 win | Recap
• vs. Wartburg — October 11, 2014 * Naperville, Ill.: For the second time in as many meetings with Wartburg this season, the Cardinals and Knights played to a 3-0 decision — only this time, it was Saint Mary's doing the sweeping, bouncing the Knights 25-22, 25-19, 25-23 to complete a 3-1 run through the two-day Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament | Recap
• vs. Augustana — August 30, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: It was perfection times two for Saint Mary's during the opening day of the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic. The Cardinals, coming off a 3-0 sweep of Dominican to open the season, posted sweep No. 2 against Augustana, rolling to wins of 25-22, 25-20, and 25-22 | Recap
 
Cardinals' Up Next:
• The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, entertaining St. Thomas in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Cardinals are in the midst of a stretch of eight straight road matches. Saint Mary's finally returns home to the Saint Mary's Gym until Oct. 2, when they host St. Thomas. … The Cardinals' picked up their fourth 3-0 win of the season with Wednesday's victory over Macalester. … Saint Mary's has posted five 3-1 wins in their last 10 contests. … Lexi Barth (Bryon, Minn.) delivered a team-high 12 kills against the Scots Wednesday, while Lillian Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) finished with 32 assists and DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) added 18 digs. … 
 
 
 
Barth enters this weekend's action at the Viking Classic leading the team in kills with 155, followed by Linnaea Wallis (Dresser, Wis. / 114) and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) with 108. … Braun owns 543 assists through 15 matches. … Braun has eclipsed the 50-assist barrier twice this season — dishing out 52 assists against Marian on Sept. 13 and delivering a season-high 54 helpers against UW-Superior on Aug. 30. … 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 41 of her last 42 matches and has recorded 20 or more assists 58 times in her four-year career. … Braun heads into this weekend's action with 2,538 career assists — eclipsing the 2,000 career assist mark with her sixth helper against UW-Superior on Aug. 30. … The Cardinals have recorded 99 service aces this season, led by Braun (17), Kedl (14), Gilles (13), and Baab (13). … Baab owns a team-high 275 digs through 15 matches, while Braun is second with 120. … 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. …  Braun and Wallis share the team lead with three double-doubles each, one more than 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 Carley Cronen (Kandiyohi, Minn.) 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. … Daynalyn Jostock's (Millville, Minn.) 11 kills in the Cardinals' 3-2 loss to UW-River Falls on Aug. 31 were a career high. … 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 Coe Kohawks:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Kohawks head into this weekend's actions with an 8-9 overall record, including a 1-1 mark through their first two American Rivers Conference contests. … With their 3-0 loss to Loras on Tuesday, Coe enters Friday's matchup against Saint Mary's in the midst of a five-match losing streak — including back-to-back-to-back 3-2 losses to Carleton, St. Olaf, and UW-Eau Claire, and 3-0 setbacks vs. UW-Platteville and Loras. … Friday's match against Saint Mary's is the sixth and final matchup against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Along with last weekend's matches against Carleton and St. Olaf, Coe has also faced Concordia twice (W, 3-1; L, 3-2) and Bethel (W, 3-1) once. … The Kohawks boast three players who have recorded 200 or more kills through 17 matches — Kate Tidman (263, 3.70 kps), Madi Parson (224, 3.15 kps), and Morgan Kluesner (209, 2.94 kps). … Elli Teeple has amassed a team-high 714 assists (10.0 aps), while Kluesner leads the team with 31 service aces, seven more than Parson, and eight in front of both Teeple and Suljic. … Suljic is also the team's digs leader with 302. She is one of four Kohawk to have eclipsed the 200-dig plateau, being joined by Parson (235), Tidman (228), and Kluesner (215). … Six of Coe's eight wins have been decided in four sets, with the Kohawks' other two wins 3-0 sweeps. On the flip side, the Kohawks have lost two matches in three sets, three in four sets, and four that have gone the maximum five sets.
 
Scouting The Wartburg Knights:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Wartburg enters this weekend's Viking Classic boasting a 12-6 record, including a perfect 2-0 start to the American Rivers Conference schedule. … With their 3-2 win over the University of Dubuque on Tuesday, the Knights head into the weekend riding a three-match winning streak — posting back-to-back 3-0 wins over Concordia-Chicago and North Central (Ill.) to close out last weekend's Central Tournament, and adding Tuesday's 3-2 win over the University of Dubuque. … Saint Mary's is Wartburg's third opponent from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference — the Knights have beating then-No. 11 Gustavus (3-2) and Concordia (3-0), while falling to Bethel (3-2). … Wartburg boasts four players who have recorded 100 or more kills this season — Jayme Willemssen (190, 2.68 kps), Natalie Clayberg (131, 1.98 kps), Kylie Bildstein (123, 2.41 kps), and Zaiah Quirk (107, 1.95 kps). … Claire Marsh and Sydney Rottinghaus have shared the setting duties for the Knights this season, with Marsh dishing out a team-high 347 assists, while Rottinghaus has chipped in 293. … Along with her team-best 347 assists, Marsh also leads the squad with 31 aces, one more than Katie Foster. … Foster also owns a team-best 410 digs, followed by Rottinghaus (208), Marsh (159), Clayberg (122), and Quirk (114). … As a team, Wartburg boasts 832 kills (11.7 kps), 747 assists (10.5 aps), 127 aces (1.8 aps), and 1241 digs (17.5 dps). … Six of Wartburg's 12 wins have come via 3-0 sweeps. The Knights also own four, four-set wins and two five-setters. On the flip side, Wartburg has yet to be swept this season, dropping a pair of 3-1 matches and three 3-2 contests.
 
Scouting The Augustana Vikings:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The host Vikings head into this weekend's matches with a 7-7 overall record — including a perfect 2-0 mark in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). … With their 3-0 sweep of Carroll on Wednesday, the Vikings pushed their winning streak to a season-high four straight. … Wednesday's match against Carroll was the first home contest of the season for Augustana, which opened the year with 13 consecutive road matches. … Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's is the Vikings' second against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference — Augustana lost to Gustavus 3-1 to open the season on Aug. 30. … Grace Bialobok has been the Vikings' offensive leader, compiling 174 kills (3.48 kps) through 14 matches. … Bialobok has appeared in a team-leading 50 of the Vikings' 53 sets this season. … Olivia Doak is the team-leader in assists with 314, while sharing the top spot with Brooke Harmon in service aces with 18 each. … Doak and Harmon are two of six Vikings who have served up 10 or more aces this season — Jessica Nguyen (15), Madi Glatz (12), Jordan Dryfhout (10), and Brooke Keegan (10) are the others. … Nguyen has amassed a team-best 244 digs, with Glatz chipping in 103. … As a team, Augustana owns 516 kills (9.74 kps), 483 assists (9.11 aps), 801 digs (15.11 dps), and 70.5 blocks (1.33 bps). … Wednesday's win over Carroll was the Vikings' first 3-0 sweep of the season. Augustana also owns four, four-set victories and two five-setters. On the flip side, four of the Vikings' seven losses have been by 3-0 decisions, with the other three coming in four sets.