• ROUGH GOING: The Cardinals came up empty in their four matches at the UW-Whitewater Invitational last weekend, dropping 3-0 decisions to Concordia (Wis.), UW-Whitewater and Carthage, while dropping a 3-2 decision to Carroll.
• WEEKEND LEADERS: Braidyn Ruetten recorded a team-leading 35 kills in the Cardinals' four matches during the UW-Whitewater Invitational, earning the sophomore All-Tournament honors. … Izabella Pigorsch (La Crosse, Wis.) and Elise Amerongen each chipped in 21 kills, one more Faith Van Erp (Sartell, Minn.). … Mandy Schmidt (Mitchell, S.D.) delivered a team-high 73 assists, while Larkin Clem (Elk River, Minn.) led the Cardinals with five aces and DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) owned a team-best 59 digs.
• HOME SWEET HOME — FINALLY: After 17 straight road matches, the Cardinals finally return home to the Saint Mary's Gym on Friday, hosting St. Scholastica. The Cardinals will play six of their final 10 matches on their home court.
• OPENER TO REMEMBER: The Cardinals kicked off conference play in memorable fashion, getting 32 kills from McNally and rallying from a 2-1 deficit to beat Carleton 3-2 on Sept. 15. McNally's 32 kills against Carleton Wednesday were not only a career-high, but also a single-match, program record, breaking the previous mark of 31, set by Brandi Blattner on Oct. 21, 2016.
• CAREER PERFORMANCES: Ruetten and Pigorsch each turned in career performances against Carroll last Friday, with Ruetten pounded out a career-high 17 kills, while Pigorsch added a career-best 14. … Elise Amerongen (Lake Elmo, Minn.) posted a career-best 13 kills in the Cardinals' 3-1 win over Westminster (Mo.) on Sept. 17. … Clem posted career-highs in both assists (30) and digs (10) en route to her first collegiate double-double against Carleton on Sept. 15. … Van Erp racked up a career-high 19 kills in the Cardinals' 3-2 loss to Marian on Sept. 11.
• DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Schmidt picked up her fourth double-double of the season against Carroll last Friday, dishing out 38 assists and adding 14 digs. Schmidt's four double-doubles are a team lead, one more than McNally, while Clem has one.
• ON THE ATTACK: McNally has recorded at least 10 kills 10 times this season — including four matches of 20 of more kills — and enters Friday's match against St. Scholastica with a team-best 201 kills. Ruetten is second on the team with 128 kills, followed closely by Van Erp with 114
• GIVING AN ASSIST: Schmidt and Clem have shared the setting duties this season. Schmidt owns a team-leading 374 helpers, while Clem has tallied 174. … With her season-high 38 assists vs. Carroll last Friday, Schmidt has posted four matches with 30 or more assists, while recording at least 20 helpers in a match 10 times.
• DIGGING IT: Baab has led the team in digs in 15 of SMU's 17 matches — including a season-high 25-dig effort in SMU's season-opening 3-1 win over Luther. Baab enters Friday's match against St. Scholastica leading the team with 247 digs. With her 59 digs last weekend, Baab pushed her career total to 1,395, ranking her fifth all-time.
• SERVING UP ACES: Clem heads into SMU's match against St. Scholastica as the team's "ace" server, owning a team-leading 24 aces, followed by Schmidt with 19, McNally and Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn.) with 12, and Ruetten with 11.
• LEAGUE-LEADERS: McNally's 201 kills rank her No. 2 in the MIAC, while her 4.19 kills-per-set rank No. 1. Baab is sitting No. 3 in digs (249( and Clem's 0.50 aces-per-set are also third in the league.
• GOING.THE DISTANCE: The Cardinals' 3-2 loss to Carroll last Friday was their third five-set match of the season. SMU was also extended to a fifth set in beating Carleton and falling to Marian. Saint Mary's is 2-7 in three-set matches, while going 2-3 in matches decided in four sets. |
• STILL SEARCHING: The Saints dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 11 UW-Eau Claire on Tuesday, pushing their season-opening losing streak to five straight.
• TOUGH SLATE: St. Scholastica has faced a pair of nationally ranked teams among its first five opponents this season — falling to No. 15 Carthage and No. 11 UW-Eau Claire, with both losses come in three sets. CSS was also scheduled to face No. 2 Calvin, but that match was canceled.
• ON THE ATTACK: Jessica Remer — who led the Saints with nine kills against UW-Eau Claire — enters Friday's match against Saint Mary's boasting a team-best 64 kills, followed by Caitlin Schneeweis with 32 and Madissen Burns with 28. … Remer posted a season-high 19 kills in the Saints' 3-1 loss to Grinnell on Sept. 17.
• SETTING 'EM UP: Katie Brostrom has accounted for 120 of the team's 158 assists this season, including posting 20 or more helpers in four of the team's five matches. … Bostrom recorded a season-high 38 assists against Grinnell on Sept. 17.
• SERVING UP ACES: Along with her 120 assists, Brostrom also leads the team in service aces with six, one more than Remer and two in front of Alicia Draper.
• DIGGING IN: Draper holds the team lead in digs with 106, followed by Remer with 60 and Schneeweis with 38. … Draper chalked up a season-high 35 digs against Grinnell on Sept. 17, and has posted 10 or more digs in all five matches this season.
• SWEPT AWAY: Four of St. Scholastica's five losses this season have been 3-0 sweeps — the lone exception, a season-opening four-set loss to Grinnell on Sept. 17.
• A YEAR AGO: In their final season in the UMAC, the Saints closed out the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with a 7-2 record. CSS dropped a 3-0 decision to UM-Morris in the opening match of the UMAC Tournament. St. Scholastica's other loss in 2020 was a 3-1 setback at the hands of No. 24 Northwestern.
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