SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2022: 2-3 MIAC, 9-11 Overall

SAINT BENEDICT BENNIES

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2022: 4-1 MIAC, 12-7 Overall

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SMU-CSB * A YEAR AGO:

Oct. 15, 2021 * St. Joseph, MN

L, 3-0 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Oct. 12, 2022 * Winona, MN

Buena Vista * L, 3-1

ST. BENEDICT * LAST ACTION:

Oct. 8, 2022 * St. Joseph, MN

Augsburg * W, 3-0

SAINT MARY’S UP NEXT: 

Oct. 15, 2022 * Winona, MN

Concordia * 3:00

SAINT BENEDICT UP NEXT: 

Oct. 15, 2022 * St. Joseph, MN

Carleton * 5:00

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference matches against Saint Benedict and Concordia sitting at 9-11 overall, including 2-3 in conference play.

• LAST ACTION: Saint Mary’s got double-doubles from Ciarra McNally (Lewiston, Minn.) and Larkin Clem (Elk River, Minn.), but it was not enough, as Buena Vista turned up the offensive heat in both the third and fourth sets in dealing SMU a 3-1 nonconference setback Wednesday at the SMU Gym.

• SENIOR SENDOFF: The Cardinals are honoring their four graduating seniors — Elise Amerongen (Lake Elmo, Minn.), Mandy Schmidt (Mitchell, S.D.), Larkin Clem (Elk River, Minn.), and Braidyn Ruetten (Holmen, Wis.) — prior to Friday’s conference matchup against Saint Benedict

• SWEEPING UP: Six of Saint Mary’s nine wins this season have been 3-0 sweeps, with the other three wins coming in four sets. On the flip side, the Cardinals have been swept four times, while falling twice in four sets and dropping all five five-set matches.

• FINALLY, HOME: After playing 16 of their first 18 matches on the road, the Cardinals are in the midst of playing four straight home contests.

• ON THE ATTACK: McNally heads into Friday’s matchup vs. Saint Benedict leading the team with 260 kills, followed by Abbie Stigler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) with 229. Ruetten is third on the team with 136 kills, while Amerongen, Faith VanErp (Sartell, Minn.), and Brenna Bruchert (Eau Claire, Wis.) are sitting at 73, 70, and 69 kills, respectively.

• DOUBLE DIGITS: McNally delivered a single-match season-high 28 kills against Grinnell on Sept. 2, and has recorded 10 or more kills 37 times in her collegiate career — including eight matches of 20 or more kills.

• CAREER BESTS: The Cardinals have had two players post career-highs of 10 or more kills this season. Stigler has recorded a career-best 21 kills twice — first against Webster on Sept. 16 and then again against Hamline on Oct. 7, while Bruchert posted 16 kills in the Cardinals’ 3-1 win over Ripon on Sept. 23. … SMU has four players who have recorded career-highs of 10 or more digs this season — Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn.) put up a career-best 28 digs vs. Luther on Oct. 5; McNally delivered a career-high 20 digs against Grinnell on Sept. 17; Stigler notched a career-high 19 digs vs. Ripon on Sept. 23, and Clem recorded a career-best 15 digs vs. Buena Vista on Wednesday.

• GIVING AN ASSIST: Mandy Schmidt (Mitchell, S.D.) and Larkin Clem (Elk River, Minn.) have shared the setting duties this season, with Schmidt owning a team-high 349 assists, followed closely by Clem with 312. … Schmidt has recorded at least 20 assists in a match seven times this season — including a season-high 31 against Knox on Sept. 17 — and has delivered 20 or more helpers 23 times over the past two seasons.

• JOINING THE CLUB: With her third assist against Marian on Sept. 10, Schmidt became the 13th player in program history to reach 1,000 career assists. Schmidt enters Friday’s match against Saint Benedict with 1,258 helpers, ranking her 11th all-time. Rachel Monterastelli ’10 is next up on the all-time assist list, sitting in 10th at 1,471.

• DOUBLING UP: McNally picked up her 12th double-double of the season against Buena Vista on Wednesday, posting 16 kills and 15 digs, while Clem collected her third double-double with 18 assists and 15 digs vs. the Beavers. … SMU boasted a season-high three players with double-doubles against Luther on Oct. 5 — McNally (10 kills, 16 digs), Stigler (19 kills, 11 digs), and Schmidt (24 assists, 19 digs). … Schmidt is second on the team with seven double-doubles, followed by Stigler with five and Clem with three.

• DIGGING IT: Berg heads into Friday’s matchup against Saint Benedict owning a team-high 314 digs, and has collected 10 or more digs in 10 straight matches — and 16 of the Cardinals’ 20 contests this season. … McNally is currently second on the team with 236 digs, followed by Schmidt with 169, Stigler with 145, and Clem with 116.

• SERVING UP ACES: Along with her team-leading 314 digs, Berg also leads the team with 40 service aces. VanErp is second with 26, followed by Clem with 24. … As a team, Saint Mary’s owns 147 aces through 20 matches.

• AT THE HELM: The 2021 season is the first at the helm for Cardinal coach Amber Zitzow — who picked up her first Saint Mary’s victory with a 3-0 win over Marian on Sept. 2. Zitzow spent the 2021 season as an assistant coach at UM-Morris, after serving 12 seasons at Rochester Community Technical College (RCTC), the first four as an assistant coach and the last eight as the Yellowjackets’ head coach.

SAINT BENEDICT BENNIES SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Bennies head into this weekend’s matches against Saint Mary’s and Carleton sitting at 12-7 overall, including a near-perfect 4-1 mark through five MIAC matches.

• LAST TIME OUT: Gabby Heying recorded 13 kills and 11 digs, as the Bennies made it look easy in rolling to a 3-0 victory over 15th-ranked Augsburg last Saturday in St. Joseph, Minn.

• BEATING THE BEST: Last Saturday’s 3-0 win over Augsburg was the Bennies’ first win against a nationally ranked team since beating Augsburg (ranked No. 11 at the time) 3-0 on Oct. 5, 2019. 

• STREAKING: With their wins over Macalester and Augsburg last weekend, Saint Benedict pushed its winning streak to three straight. It’s the second time this season the Bennies have won three consecutive matches. … All three of CSB’s wins during their current three-game run have been 3-0 sweeps.

• ROAD WARRIORS: Friday’s match at Saint Mary’s is the first of back-to-back road contests for the Bennies, who have played just three home contests through their first 21 matches this season. Followed this weekend’s matches at Saint Mary’s and Carleton, CSB — which is 2-1 at home and 10-6 on the road — will play three of its final four matches at Claire Lynch Hall in St. Joseph. 

• ON THE ATTACK: The Bennies boast a pair of players — Gabby Heying and Emma Guest — who have recorded more than 200 kills this season. Heying leads the Bennie offensive attack with 248 kills, just 25 more than Guest. Mackenzie Knofczynski is third on the squad with 137 kills. … Heying has posted 10 or more kills in 17 of the team’s 19 matches — including each of the last 16 contests — while Guest has hit double figures in kills 10 times. … Guest has recorded a single-match season-high 20 kills twice — first against Texas Lutheran on Sept. 9 and then again vs. the University of Dubuque the following day.

• GIVING AN ASSIST: Audrey Spolidoro has amassed 706 of the team’s 825 assists this season, and has dished out 20 or more helpers in all 19 matches — including eight performances of 40 or more assists. … Spolidoro recorded a season-high 59 assists against Texas Lutheran on Sept. 9.

• DIGGING IT: Mackenzie McDonald sits atop the team’s digs lead with 335. Heying (232) and Chaeli Haupert (219) have also delivered more than 200 digs, while Guest (188) and Spolidoro (180) had eclipsed the 100-dig plateau. … McDonald has posted 10 or more digs in 18 of the team’s 19 matches, including each of the last 15 contests. … McDonald posted a season-best 32 digs against Texas Lutheran on Sept. 9.

• SERVING UP ACES: Saint Benedict has collected 121 service aces this season, led by Haupert with 26, and Guest and McDonald with 24 each. Heying and Spolidoro have also recorded more than 10 aces this season, sitting with 17 and 16, respectively. 

• BY THE NUMBERS: Six of Saint Benedict’s 12 wins have been 3-0 sweeps — including each of their last four victories. CSB also owns three, four-set wins and three five-setters. On the flip side, the Bennies have dropped four three-set matches, two four-setters and one that has gone the maximum five sets.