• HOME IS SOOO SWEET: After 17 straight road matches, the Cardinals finally opened the home portion of their season on Friday, rolling to a 3-1 MIAC win over St. Scholastica.
• STREAK SNAPPER: With their 3-1 win over St. Scholastica, the Cardinals put an end to their season-high six-match losing streak, The win was also Saint Mary's third in the last four meetings against St. Scholastica.
• FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS: Elise Amerongen (Lake Elmo, Minn.) led the Cardinals with 12 kills, while Faith Van Erp (Sartell, Minn.) chipped in nine, and Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Minn.) added eight. Mandy Schmidt (Mitchell, S.D.) dished out 21 assists and added 14 digs and Baab led four Cardinals in double figures in digs with her season-high 29. McNally added 15 digs, followed by Hannah Skroch (Savage, Minn.) with 15 and Schmidt with 14.
• 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: Braidyn Ruetten (Holmen, Wis.) and Izabella Pigorsch (La Crosse, Wis.) 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. … Amerongen posted a career-best 13 kills in the Cardinals' 3-1 win over Westminster (Mo.) on Sept. 17. … Larkin Clem (Elk River, Minn.) 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 team-leading fifth double-double of the season on Friday, recording 21 assists and added 14 digs against St. Scholastica. Schmidt's five double-doubles are two 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 Saturday's match against St. Catherine with a team-best 209 kills. Ruetten is second on the team with 133 kills, followed closely by Van Erp with 123
• GIVING AN ASSIST: Schmidt and Clem have shared the setting duties this season. Schmidt owns a team-leading 395 helpers, while Clem has tallied 187. … 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 11 times.
• DIGGING IT: Baab has led the team in digs in 16 of SMU's 18 matches — including a season-high 29-dig effort in SMU's 3-1 win over St. Scholastica Friday. Baab enters Saturday's match against St. Catherine leading the team with 278 digs. With her 29 digs Friday, Baab pushed her career total to 1,424, ranking her fifth all-time.
• SERVING UP ACES: Clem and Schmidt head into SMU's match against St. Catherine as the team's "ace" server, sharing the team lead with 24 aces, followed by McNally and Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn.) with 12, and Ruetten with 11.
• LEAGUE-LEADERS: McNally's 209 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 (278) and Clem's 0.50 aces-per-set are also third in the league.
• 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 2-7 in three-set matches, while going 3-3 in matches decided in four sets. |
• STILL PERFECT: The Wildcats picked up their second straight win to open the conference season, outlasting Concordia 3-2 Friday evening.
• FRIDAY LEADERS: Lauren Skar had a career-high 17 kills, while Lauren Isaacson tallied 15 kills and 26 digs and Maggie Rosen chipped in 13 kills in SCU's win over Concordia. Lexie Petrick collected a career-best 35 digs and Julie Weiler added a career-high 28 digs.
• MAKING QUICK WORK: Six of SCU's nine wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps. The Wildcats also own one, 3-1 win and two 3-2 victories. On the flip side, SCU has been swept twice, while dropping five four-set contests.
• HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday's match against Saint Mary's marks the third time in the last four contests that the Wildcats have played on their home court — the lone exception, Friday's matchup at Concordia. SCU heads into Saturday with a near-perfect 7-1 mark on their home court.
• ON THE ATTACK: Isaacson heads into Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's as the team's kills leader with 131, followed closely by Rosen with 123. Petrick and Bryana Leverentz are closing in on the century mark in kills with 99 and 96, respectively. … Isaacson owns five matches of 10 or more kills, including a season-best 15 against Concordia on Friday. … Rosen has eclipsed 10 kills in a match six times, with Friday's 13-kill effort a season-best.
• SETTING THE TABLE: Marissa Gilbertson and Abbi Harker have shared the setting duties for the Wildcats this season. Gilbertson owns a team-high 287 through 16 matches, while Harker has amassed 178 assists. … Gilbertson has been held under 10 assists in a match once this season, and owns eight 20+ assist performances — including a season-high 27 matches against Concordia Friday.
• SERVING UP ACES: St. Catherine boasts six players who have recorded 10 or more aces this season, led by Petrick with 19, and Gilbertson and Isaacson with 16 each. Harker (14), Weiler (11), and Leverentz (11) have also eclipsed the 10-ace mark this season.
• DIGGING IN: Weiler leads the Wildcats with 179 digs. She is one of four SCU players with 100 or more digs through 16 matches, being joined by Isaacson (173), Petrick (150), and Gilbertson (110).
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