• HOME IS SOOO SWEET: After 17 straight road matches, the Cardinals finally opened the home portion of their season last Friday, rolling to a 3-1 MIAC win over St. Scholastica.
• ENCORE, ENCORE: Saint Mary's followed up its 3-1 win over St. Scholastica with a near-perfect performance against St. Catherine the following evening, dealing the Wildcats a 3-0 setback in St. Paul, Minn.
• STREAK SNAPPER: With their 3-1 win over St. Scholastica last Friday, 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.
• WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS: Elise Amerongen (Lake Elmo, Minn.) led the Cardinals with 12 kills against St. Scholastica last Friday, while Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Minn.) delivered 18 kills and 14 digs to lead the Cardinals against St. Catherine the following evening. Mandy Schmidt (Mitchell, S.D.) finished the weekend with a combined 41 assists and DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.) collected 41 digs in the two matches,
• CAREER PERFORMANCES: McNally — who recorded a program-record 32 kills in the Cardinals' 3-2 wi over 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 Izabella Pigorsch (La Crosse, Wis.) 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. … 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 one more than McNally — who posted an 18-kill, 14-dig double-double against St. Catherine last Saturday — 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 Friday's match against Hamline with a team-best 227 kills. Ruetten is second on the team with 135 kills, followed closely by Van Erp with 133.
• GIVING AN ASSIST: Schmidt and Clem have shared the setting duties this season. Schmidt owns a team-leading 415 helpers, while Clem has tallied 198. … 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: Baab has led the team in digs in 16 of SMU's 19 matches — including a season-high 29-dig effort in SMU's 3-1 win over St. Scholastica last Friday. Baab enters Friday's match against Hamline leading the team with 288 digs. … Baab has compiled a total of 1,436 career digs, ranking her fifth all-time — just 27 digs back of Leslie Nichols ''02 for fourth.
• SERVING UP ACES: Schmidt and Clem head into SMU's match against Hamline 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 227 kills rank her No. 2 in the MIAC, while her 3.91 kills-per-set rank No. 1. Baab is sitting No. 3 in digs (288).
• 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 3-7 in three-set matches, while going 3-3 in matches decided in four sets. |
• FOR THE RECORD: The Pipers come into Friday's MIAC showdown against Saint Mary's boasting a 12-5 overall record, including a 3-1 mark in conference play. HU dropped its most recent match, falling to St. Olaf 3-1 last Saturday.
• STREAK SNAPPER: Last Saturday's 3-1 setback at the hands of St. Olaf snapped the Pipers' five-match winning streak, a streak that included back-to-back-to-back 3-2 victories over Gustavus, UW-Superior, and Augsburg.
• HOME SWEET HOME: Last Saturday's match against Augsburg was the Pipers' fourth straight home match. HU is a near-perfect 6-1 on its home court, while going 6-4 on the road — including 3-3 in neutral-site contests.
• ON THE ATTACK: Hamline enters Friday's matchup against Saint Mary's boasting three players who have recorded 100 or more kills this season. Sydney Larson leads the HU offensive attack with 205 kills, just five more than Rachel Rettmann, while Julianna Boyum owns 119 kills. … Larson has recorded 10 or more kills in 14 of the team's 17 matches, including a season-high 16 kills against both UW-La Crosse and UW-Superior.
• LENDING A HAND: Megan Rubbelke has been the straw that stirs the Pipers' offense, accounting for 592 of the team's 671 assists. Megan Rubbelke has posted 20 or more assists in every match this season — and owns six matches with 40 or more helpers. Megan Rubbelke posted a season-high 51 assists against Whitman on Sept. 10.
• SEEING DOUBLE: Megan Rubbelke and sister Jenna share the team lead in service aces with 31 each. Larson and Gabby Robison are tied for third with 16 aces, while Rettmann has chipped in 15. Â
• DIGGING IN: Jenna Rubbelke has amassed a team-best 290 digs, while Megan Rubbelke (185), Larson (147), Robison (133), and Maggie Gavic (120) have also eclipsed the 100-dig mark. Jenna Rubbelke has posted at least 10 digs in 16 of 17 matches — including five 20+ dig efforts. Jenna Rubbelke delivered a season-high 29 digs against Saint Benedict on Sept. 22.
• AS A TEAM: Six of Hamline's 12 wins have been 3-0 sweeps, while HU has also picked up four five-set victories and a pair of four-set wins. On the flip side, three of the Pipers' five losses have come in four sets. HU has also been swept twice.
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