• FOR THE RECORD: Saint Mary's heads into this weekend's conference matches against Macalester and Bethel sporting a 7-16 overall record — including a 3-4 conference mark.
• LAST WEEKEND: Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Minn.) recorded a combined 28 and 17 digs in SMU's matches against Saint Benedict and Concordia last weekend. Mandy Schmidt (Mitchell, S.D.) chipped in 47 assists and DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) led the way with 33 digs.
• END OF THE ROAD: Last Saturday's match at Concordia was the final road contest of the season for the Cardinals — who played their first 17 matches of the season on the road. Saint Mary's will close out the regular-season with home conference matches against Macalester, Bethel, St. Olaf, and Gustavus.
• 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 on Oct. 1. … 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. … 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 sixth double-double of the season against Saint Benedict last Friday, posting 27 assists and 12 digs. McNally, meanwhile, posted her fifth double-double of the season with her 14-kill, 11-dig effort against UW-La Crosse last Tuesday. Clem posted career-highs in both assists (30) and digs (10) en route to her first collegiate double-double against Carleton on Sept. 15.
• ON THE ATTACK: McNally has recorded at least 10 kills 14 times this season — including four matches of 20 of more kills — and enters Friday's match against Macalester with a team-best 275 kills. Ruetten is second on the team with 153 kills, followed closely by Van Erp with 148 and Elise Amerongen (Lake Elmo, Minn.) with 100.
• GIVING AN ASSIST: Schmidt and Clem have shared the setting duties this season. Schmidt owns a team-leading 479helpers, while Clem has tallied 229. … 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 13 times.
• DIGGING IT: Baab has led the team in digs in 18 of SMU's 23 matches — including a season-high 29-dig effort in SMU's 3-1 win over St. Scholastica on Oct. 1. Baab enters Friday's conference match vs. Macalester leading the team with 333 digs. … Baab has compiled a total of 1,481 career digs, ranking her fourth all-time.
• SERVING UP ACES: Clem and Schmidt head into SMU's match against the Scots as the team's "ace" servers, posting 27 and 26 aces, respectively, followed by McNally (15), Baab (13), Grace Gilles (Apple Valley, Minn. / 13), and Ruetten (11).
• LEAGUE-LEADERS: McNally's 275 kills rank her No. 2 in the MIAC, while her 3.87 kills-per-set rank No. 1. Baab is sitting No. 5 in digs (333).
• 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. SMU's 3-0 loss to Hamline on Oct. 8, meanwhile, put an end to SMU's two-match winning streak.
• 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 3-9 in three-set matches, while going 3-4 in matches decided in four sets. |
• FOR THE RECORD: The Scots enter Friday's MIAC showdown against Saint Mary's deadlocked with the Cardinals at 3-4 in conference play, while sporting a 12-8 overall record.
• LAST ACTION: Macalester picked up a nail-biting win over St, Scholastica last Saturday, beating the Saints 3-1 — with no set being decided by more than five points, including three that were decided by two points.
• HOME IS SWEET: The Scots have picked up eight of their 12 wins on their home court. Macalester is 8-3 at home, while going 4-5 away from Leonard Center. Following Friday's matchup against Saint Mary's, Macalester will play back-to-back home matches, before closing out the season with a pair of road contests.
• ON THE ATTACK: Macalester boasts three players who have recorded 100 or more kills through 20 matches, led by Eliza King with 247. Adisa Prestion (179) and Stephanie Beger (126) have also eclipsed the 100-kill barrier this season. … King has recorded 12 matches of 10 or more kills, including a pair of 20+ kill performances — notching 20 kills against Concordia and a season-high 21 against Buena Vista.
• ON THE ASSIST: Nicole Norton has been an assist machine for the Scots this season, accounting for 649 of the team's 741 helpers this season. Norton has recorded 10 or more assists in all 20 matches this season — including eight matches of 40 or more assists. … Norton delivered 53 assists against Buena Vista on Sept. 4 and posted a season-high 57 assists against St. Scholastica last Saturday.
• DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Norton owns a team-high 14 double-doubles, while King has chipped in 10 — including a season-high 21-kill, 20-dig showing against Buena Vista on Sept. 4.
• DIGGING IN: King and Torrance Williams lead the Scots with 245 and 241 digs, respectively, and are two of four Macalester players with at least 100 digs. Norton (211) and Preston (182) are the other two.
• RIDING THE ROLLERCOASTER: After opening the season with wins in nine of their first 12 matches — including a pair of four-match winning streaks — Macalester is 3-5 in its last eight contests.
• COMING UP EMPTY: Seven of Macalester's eight losses this season have been 3-0 sweeps, with the other being decided in four sets. On the flip side, the Scots have posted just three 3-0 sweeps, while winning five matches in four sets and adding four, five-set victories.
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