• FOR THE RECORD: Saint Mary's heads into Tuesday's nonconference match against UW-La Crosse sporting a 7-13 overall record. The Cardinals saw their MIAC record dip to 3-2 with last Friday's 3-0 loss to Hamline.
• END OF THE ROAD: The Cardinals — who played their first 17 matches of the season on the road — will play their final three road matches of the season this week. Following Tuesday's match at UW-La Crosse, the Cardinals will travel to Saint Benedict (Friday) and Concordia (Saturday), before closing out the regular-season with home conference matches against Macalester, Bethel, St. Olaf, and Gustavus.
• STREAK SNAPPERS: With their 3-1 win over St. Scholastica on Oct. 1, the Cardinals put an end to their season-high six-match losing streak. Last Friday's 3-0 loss to Hamline, meanwhile, put an end to SMU's two-match winning streak.
• AGAINST THE PIPERS: Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Minn.) and Izabella Pigorsch (La Crosse, Wis.) finished with seven and six kills, respectively, to pace the Cardinals in last Friday's 3-0 loss to Hamline. Larkin Clem (Elk River, Minn.) chipped in team-highs in both assists (9) and digs (10).
• 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 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: McNally — who recorded a program-record 32 kills in the Cardinals' 3-2 victory against Carleton on Sept. 15 — notched a career-high 18 digs in the Cardinals' 3-1 win over St. Scholastica last Friday. … McNally's 32 kills against Carleton 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. … Braidyn Ruetten (Holmen, Wis.) and Pigorsch each turned in career performances against Carroll on Sept. 24., with Ruetten pounded out a career-high 17 kills, while Pigorsch added a career-best 14. … Amerongen 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. … Faith Van Erp (Sartell, Minn.) racked up a career-high 19 kills in the Cardinals' 3-2 loss to Marian on Sept. 11.
• DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Schmidt picked up her team-leading fifth double-double of the season, recording 21 assists and added 14 digs against St. Scholastica on Oct. 1. Schmidt's five double-doubles are one more than McNally — who posted an 18-kill, 14-dig double-double against St. Catherine on Oct. 2 — while Clem has one.
• ON THE ATTACK: McNally has recorded at least 10 kills 11 times this season — including four matches of 20 of more kills — and enters Tuesday's match against UW-La Crosse with a team-best 234 kills. Ruetten is second on the team with 137 kills, followed closely by Van Erp with 135.
• GIVING AN ASSIST: Schmidt and Clem have shared the setting duties this season. Schmidt owns a team-leading 422 helpers, while Clem has tallied 207. … With her season-high 38 assists vs. Carroll on Sept. 24, Schmidt has posted four matches with 30 or more assists, while recording at least 20 helpers in a match 12 times.
• DIGGING IT: DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) has led the team in digs in 16 of SMU's 20 matches — including a season-high 29-dig effort in SMU's 3-1 win over St. Scholastica last Friday. Baab enters Tuesday's nonconference match at UW-La Crosse leading the team with 292 digs. … Baab has compiled a total of 1,440 career digs, ranking her fifth all-time — just 23 digs back of Leslie Nichols ''02 for fourth.
• SERVING UP ACES: Schmidt and Clem head into SMU's match against the Eagles as the team's "ace" servers, posting 26 and 24 aces, respectively, followed by McNally (15), Baab (12), Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn. / 12), and Ruetten (11).
• LEAGUE-LEADERS: McNally's 234 kills rank her No. 2 in the MIAC, while her 3.84 kills-per-set rank No. 1. Baab is sitting No. 4 in digs (292).
• GOING.THE DISTANCE: The Cardinals' 3-2 loss to Carroll on Sept. 24 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 3-8 in three-set matches, while going 3-3 in matches decided in four sets. |
• FOR THE RECORD: The Eagles head into Tuesday's nonconference match against Saint Mary's sitting at 15-6 overall, including a 3-1 record in WIAC play.
• IN A FUNK: UW-La Crosse's losses to St. Olaf and Gustavus last weekend marked the second and third consecutive 3-0 losses for the Eagles, who also dropped a 3-0 decision to UW-Whitewater on Oct. 6.Â
• FAMILIAR FOES: Saint Mary's is the fifth and final MIAC opponent for the Eagles, who have already played Augsburg (W, 3-2), Hamline (W, 3-1), St. Olaf (L, 3-0), and Gustavus (L, 3-0) this season.
• HOME COOKING: Tuesday's match against Saint Mary's is UW-L's seventh home contest of the season. UW-L — which plays seven of its final nine matches on the road — is 6-1 on its home court, while going 9-5 away from Mitchell Hall.
• ON THE ATTACK: UW-L boasts three players who have recorded 100 or more kills this season, led by Emma Lawrence, who has amassed a team-leading 314 kills. Brianne Korducki (146) and Liz Lansink (107) have also reached the 100-kill plateau. … Lawrence has posted 10- or more kills in 16 of the team's 21 matches — including six matches with 20 or more kills. Lawrence has posted a season-high 26 kills twice — against Hamline on Sept. 18 and v. UW-Platteville on Oct. 2.
• SETTING THE TABLE: Megan Adams and Jackie Oetterer have shared the setting duties for the Eagles — with each owning more than 300 helpers through 21 matches. Adams leads the way with 386 assists, followed closely by Oetterer with 305. … Adams has 19 matches with 10 or more assists, including nine 20+ assist performances. Oetterer, meanwhile, has recorded 17 matches with 10 or more assists.
• DOUBLING UP: Lawrence owns a team-leading 12 double-doubles — including a 26-kill, 28-dig performance against UW-Platteville on Oct. 2, while Adams has posted 10 double-doubles.
• ACEING IT: Isabelle Jensen and Lawrence have combined for 65 service aces — 35 by Jensen and 30 by Lawrence. Oetterer (18), Adams (17), and Lansink (14) have also recorded 10 or more ac es this season.
• DIGGING IN: The Eagles boast five players who have recorded 100 or more digs, led by Lawrence with 289 and Sophie Quelle with 248. Adams (192), Jensen (141), and Sydney Fedderly (112) were the other three Eagles with 100+ digs.
• AS A TEAM: The Eagles enter Tuesday's match with Saint Mary's with 931 kills, 863 assists, 143 aces, and 1244 digs. … Eight of UW-L's 15 wins have been 3-0 sweeps. The Eagles also own five four-set wins and a pair of five-setters. On the flip side, five of UW-La Crosse's six losses have been 3-0 decisions, with the other a five-set marathon.
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